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ORLANDO, Fla. - A 28-year-old man from Orlando is believed to have died from vaping.
“At 28 years old, no one goes to bed happy-go-lucky and doesn’t wake up at 28-years-old,” Kyle Boyd’s father Donald Boyd said. “Nobody. Nobody should have to endure that. No family should have to bury their child because of vaping.”
Last week, Kyle Boyd’s family said he went to sleep and never woke up. His mother and stepfather found the 28-year-old unresponsive and unable to breathe in his room.
“He went into cardiac arrest twice,” Kyle Boyd’s step-father Kevin Lambrecht said. “They stabilized them and transferred him to an emergency room but he never regained consciousness.”
After several days in the hospital, Kyle was pronounced brain dead. His doctors believe vaping is to blame for his death.
“The things that we were told by the attending physician were that his lungs were whited out and that he had pneumonia that was more than likely caused by the vaping,” Donald Boyd said.
Kyle’s family said he was a heavy vape user.
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“The medical staff tested for drugs,” Lambrecht said. There were no drugs involved. There was no THC. There was no marijuana. There was no alcohol. His only vice was vaping and we just didn’t realize how bad that is.”
Kyle’s family has sent a biopsy from his lungs to the Centers for Disease Control for testing. They said they feel blindsided by Kyle’s death.
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“Our children are being fooled into believing that vaping is okay as a better alternative to tobacco and it’s not,” Donald Boyd said.
Now, they are hoping to bring awareness to other families.
“Please, we have to get the word out,” Lambrecht said. “Our family is devoted to doing that from here on out.”
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Kyle’s family said his job was working with those suffering from addiction and would like donations to be made in his honor to Matthew’s Hope, a nonprofit in Winter Garden. To donate to Matthew’s Hope text MHM to 41444 or visit MatthewsHopeMinistries.org and use the Donate Button.
Kyle's funeral is on Friday at 3 p.m. at St. Joseph's on Alafaya Trail in Orlando.