A 15-year-old boy was hospitalized with devastating injuries to his hands after his vape device exploded.
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Aiden Dean Adams, from Bakersfield, California, was prohibited from vaping by his parents, who had cautioned him about the serious health risks it posed. Of course, that didn’t seem to deter the young man.
“But I’m not ignorant — he’s a teenager,” his father, Robert Dean Adams, explained to Kennedy News and Media, per The Daily Mail. He revealed that he and his wife frequently discovered vapes stashed in Aiden’s room, which raised their suspicions. Their concern grew as Aiden began taking frequent walks around the neighborhood.
One afternoon, Aiden strolled to a nearby overpass to enjoy a quick vape. However, he found his device malfunctioning. Suspecting it might be misaligned, he struck it against the ground, hoping to fix the issue.
However, the explosion happened just as the teen lifted it to his mouth.
“Boom!” the teen’s father recounted. “A big flash is all [Aiden] remembers.”
The Brutal Extent of the Teen’s Injuries Following His Vape Device Exploding
When the vape exploded, shards of shrapnel tore through the air, cutting Aiden’s face and leaving his fingers bloody and mangled. Staggering toward the road, he managed to flag down a passing driver who took the injured teen home.
The father’s description of his teen son’s injuries is harrowing.
“The palm of his hand was just turned inside out. It’s the first time I’d ever seen an explosive injury first-hand,” Robert recalled. “There was a lot of soft tissue damage. Digits were hanging. A lot of tissue exposure. You could see bone, fingers, hand, ligaments.”
“His whole inside left hand was completely exposed,” the father added. “It did almost completely sever his thumb. The very base of the thumb all the way down to where it meets the wrist. That was all hanging off.”
Robert quickly wrapped Aiden’s hands in towels. Meanwhile, his wife promptly called for an ambulance. Upon arriving at the hospital, Aiden was rushed into surgery, where doctors worked tirelessly for hours to save his fingers. They successfully preserved his thumb.
However, part of his middle and index fingers had to be amputated.
Otherwise, the teen is anticipated to make a full recovery within a few weeks.
Meanwhile, the FDA has introduced a webpage dedicated to preventing vape battery fires and explosions. The agency also pointed out that such explosions are uncommon.
“The exact causes of vape fires or explosions are not yet clear, but some evidence suggests that battery-related issues may be a cause,” the agency warns.