At first, the doctors said it was pneumonia.
On the way back from the hospital two days before her death, my mother groaned between coughs, “I’m never smoking again; I’m throwing out all of my e-cigarettes and weed pens.”
This was a groundbreaking statement from my mother, who, like many, had embraced vaping as an alternative to smoking with swift, open arms. Despite recent protests from loved ones, she was adamant for years that it was far healthier than her cigarette habit. Having always believed marijuana was not a dangerous drug to consume, Mom began to vape THC products in late 2018 — not long after California legalized the drug for recreational use.
If I knew my mother, she would try to move mountains before she would declare she was quitting either drug. It’s easy to assume just how much pain she was in to say this.
My father, a doctor who is all too familiar with the dangers of vaping, responded to her declaration of quitting by saying, “Good, Mary. There are some things that are precious, like your vision and your breath, and you just can’t hurt those things.”
“Breath is precious,” my mom repeated.
On Friday, Sept. 6, my father found her blue in the lips, struggling for such precious air but unable to grasp it. She had most likely suffered for hours. Her death came swiftly after.
Later, X-rays revealed a white substance infiltrating her lungs, clouds as silky as the puffs of vape she would exhale. Those clouds weren’t there when
