Nassau Business Owner Vaped THC To Calm Nerves; He Nearly Died

MANHASSET, NY — More than a dozen cases of vaping-related breathing illnesses have been reported at Northwell Health hospitals, including one at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset where the patient suffered major lung damage and nearly died.

Joanthan Doneson started using a vaping pen to inhale THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, after he and his wife started a new business. The 52-year-old Roslyn Heights man thought the drug would help him calm his nerves. But when Doneson’s business took him to China over the summer, his health quickly deteriorated. Soon after returning, he began experiencing pain, night sweats and a fever.

His primary care doctor thought it might be bronchitis, but his prescribed medication didn’t help. The pain and fever forced him to into to the emergency room at North Shore University Hospital on Aug. 22. Doctors became alarmed when he didn’t respond to the usual course of antibiotics. It took three weeks for Doneson to be released, and it only happened after one of the hospital's pulmonologists learned he was vaping THC.

"No one could figure out why the antibiotics weren’t working," said Doneson. "When Dr. [Mina] Makaryus asked me about my smoking or drinking habits, I told him that I had started using a THC vaping pen about a month earlier. My wife and I had just started a new business, and I thought it would be good to help control my stress."

Doctors prescribed an appropriate cocktail of antibiotics and steroids, the hospital said in a news release, and Doneson made a full recovery.

Now he's become a spokesperson against vaping products, which have sickened dozens in New York and more than 450 across 33 states. Six people have died, and Doneson nearly joined them. He returned to the hospital Thursday to thank the doctor for understanding that vaping was behind the mysterious illness.

"I'm thinking of these THC vaping pens as chronic suicide," said Doneson. "These things are not safe … they are killing people. If you are using them, throw them away immediately. If your kids are using them, just throw them away. They are dangerous."

Over the last three months, the Northwell Health system alone has treated more than a dozen cases of lung disease in "otherwise young and healthy" people, said Annamaria Iakovou, a pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine doctor at the Manhasset hospital.

"These patients presented similarly with symptoms of cough, fever and shortness of breath, often associated with gastrointestinal symptoms," Iakovou said. "The majority reported vaping THC containing oils, but some were also using e-cigarettes containing nicotine, with or without THC."

See also: 2 LI Teens Hospitalized After Vaping THC Oil; 1 Put Into Coma

While the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigation has not identified any specific substance or e-cigarette product linked to all cases, many patients reported using e-cigarette products with liquids that contain cannabinoid products like THC.

In New York specifically, high levels of vitamin E acetate were found in nearly all cannabis-containing samples tested, health officials have said. Vitamin E acetate is not an approved additive for vape products authorized by the state's medical marijuana program, and it was not found in the nicotine-based products. Investigators have focused on the acetate as a potential cause to the mysterious lung illnesses.

Vitamin E acetate is commonly available and not known to cause harm when taken as a vitamin supplement or applied to the skin. But state health officials are looking into possible health effects when it's inhaled.

Both the Trump administration and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are taking the vaping sicknesses seriously. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he will seek to ban the sale of flavored vaping products in hopes to prevent young people from suffering from a lifelong addiction.

Trump's announcement came days after Cuomo said he planned to propose legislation to ban them at the state level. Cuomo also ordered the state Department of Health to subpoena three out-of-state companies that market and sell so-called "thickening agents" used in black market vaping products.

North Shore doctors were pleased to hear that Doneson returned to work and began exercising, rather than vaping. In fact, Doneson thew out his vape pen.

"Run, exercise, get good endorphins into your body," said Doneson. "The chemicals in these things nearly killed me. What I thought would help me relax was actually hurting me. Think of your family and don’t be selfish. Stop vaping!"