Aiden Dean Adams.Photo:KENNEDY NEWS
KENNEDY NEWS
A California teen was hospitalized and suffered severe injuries to his hands and face after hisvape exploded.Aiden Dean Adams from Bakersfield, Calif., wasn’t allowed to vape, according to his parents. They had warned the 15-year-old of the health risks associated with vaping.“But I’m not ignorant — he’s a teenager,” his father Robert Dean Adams told Kennedy News and Media, viaThe Daily Mail. He said that he and his wife often found vapes hidden in his room and got suspicious when Aiden would go out for walks around the neighborhood.One day, Aiden walked to an overpass near his home in to sneak a smoke with his vape, but his device wasn’t working properly. He thought it might’ve been misaligned so he hit it against the ground to knock it into place.As the teen brought it up to his mouth to use it, the explosion occurred.“Boom!” his father recalled. “A big flash is all [Aiden] remembers.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Aiden Dean Adams after his accident.Kennedy NewsWhen the vape exploded, shrapnel went flying and cut his face and his fingers were left bloody and mangled. Aiden walked out toward the road and waved down a driver who was able to drive him back home.Aiden got back to the house and his parents were shocked at the sight of his injuries. Robert said that both of his son’s hands looked “horrible,” his shirt was covered in blood, and parts of his hair was singed.“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 told the outlet. “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,” he continued. “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 wrapped Aiden’s hands with towels and his wife immediately called an ambulance.After arriving at the hospital, Aiden was taken into surgery and doctors spent hours trying to save his fingers. They were able to save his thumb, but part of his middle and index fingers had to be amputated.Aiden is expected to recover after several weeks.The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Teen vaping.Alyssa Langella / EyeEm / Getty ImagesRobert expressed his frustration with how popular vaping has become over the years, especially among children.“This stuff popped up out of nowhere. I don’t remember it ever being advertised to people other than seeing kids with it,” he told the outlet. “That’s who you see more than anybody are the children. I never trusted these things. I don’t like them.”“But we’ve put a device out there that can get into the hands of kids that apparently has a highly explosive possibility. That right there, people need to know about and be educated on,” he added. “If they were, these things probably wouldn’t be here.”The FDA launched awebpageon avoiding vape battery fires and explosions, noting that the incidents appear 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 says.
A California teen was hospitalized and suffered severe injuries to his hands and face after hisvape exploded.
Aiden Dean Adams from Bakersfield, Calif., wasn’t allowed to vape, according to his parents. They had warned the 15-year-old of the health risks associated with vaping.
“But I’m not ignorant — he’s a teenager,” his father Robert Dean Adams told Kennedy News and Media, viaThe Daily Mail. He said that he and his wife often found vapes hidden in his room and got suspicious when Aiden would go out for walks around the neighborhood.
One day, Aiden walked to an overpass near his home in to sneak a smoke with his vape, but his device wasn’t working properly. He thought it might’ve been misaligned so he hit it against the ground to knock it into place.
As the teen brought it up to his mouth to use it, the explosion occurred.
“Boom!” his father recalled. “A big flash is all [Aiden] remembers.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Aiden Dean Adams after his accident.Kennedy News
Kennedy News
When the vape exploded, shrapnel went flying and cut his face and his fingers were left bloody and mangled. Aiden walked out toward the road and waved down a driver who was able to drive him back home.
Aiden got back to the house and his parents were shocked at the sight of his injuries. Robert said that both of his son’s hands looked “horrible,” his shirt was covered in blood, and parts of his hair was singed.
“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 told the outlet. “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,” he continued. “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 wrapped Aiden’s hands with towels and his wife immediately called an ambulance.
After arriving at the hospital, Aiden was taken into surgery and doctors spent hours trying to save his fingers. They were able to save his thumb, but part of his middle and index fingers had to be amputated.
Aiden is expected to recover after several weeks.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Teen vaping.Alyssa Langella / EyeEm / Getty Images
Alyssa Langella / EyeEm / Getty Images
Robert expressed his frustration with how popular vaping has become over the years, especially among children.
“This stuff popped up out of nowhere. I don’t remember it ever being advertised to people other than seeing kids with it,” he told the outlet. “That’s who you see more than anybody are the children. I never trusted these things. I don’t like them.”
“But we’ve put a device out there that can get into the hands of kids that apparently has a highly explosive possibility. That right there, people need to know about and be educated on,” he added. “If they were, these things probably wouldn’t be here.”
The FDA launched awebpageon avoiding vape battery fires and explosions, noting that the incidents appear 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 says.
source: people.com
