• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
North Carolina woman warns vapers after teen stepson suddenly died

Home> Community> Life

Updated 10:59 24 Jan 2024 GMTPublished 10:46 28 Jul 2023 GMT+1

North Carolina woman warns vapers after teen stepson suddenly died

The stepmom has urged parents to talk to their kids after her stepson died at just 15-years-old

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

A concerned and grieving stepmom in North Carolina has shared a warning for parents and children who vape after she suddenly lost her 15-year-old stepson.

Charlene Zorn decided to share the ordeal her family went through after her stepson, Solomon Wynn, was taken off a ventilator and died last month.

Wynn was just 15-years-old, and previously was known by his family to be a healthy teenager who 'loved' football and went to the gym every morning.

A few months ago, Wynn's health took a turn when he developed a 'bad cough'.

The family, from Wilmington, went to the doctor, and Wynn was diagnosed with what they 'thought was bronchitis'.

Advert

Doctors prescribed Wynn with antibiotics, steroids and inhalers, but when his condition failed to get better he was referred to a pulmonologist.

Allergy testing and X-rays determined Wynn had been vaping, and the teen quickly admitted that his friends had 'showed him how to do it'.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Zorn said: "As parents, we had no clue. We had no indication that he had been vaping. Neither his father nor myself smoke, so there were no products in our house that he could get. It wasn't that it was something accessible to him. It was something he got through his friends."

Solomon Wynn had been 'healthy' before he developed his cough.
Charlene Zorn/Fox News Digital

Advert

After Wynn developed the cough, his strength gradually declined until he couldn't walk for even five minutes because his breathing was so labored.

"The CAT scan showed that there was fluid in three places on his lungs and surrounding his heart," Zorn said.

"He was supposed to see the cardiologist that following Monday because, obviously, they had concerns because it was affecting his heart. And then on that Friday, on June 16, he collapsed and then ended up in the hospital on a ventilator."

Wynn's friends and family were blindsided when, just one day later, he died. His death came just days after his 15th birthday.

Advert

At Wynn's funeral, his stepmom urged his friends and football teammates not to vape.

"All these things that we thought Solomon was going to do — we thought he would play football all the way through high school," she said.

Zorn has encouraged parents to talk to their kids.
Fox News Digital

"He talked on and off about the military. He talked about jobs that he wanted to have," Zorn said. "We even joked about him even having a family someday. None of those things are going to happen now. … We have memories. That's all we have now."

Advert

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned flavored vapes in an effort to prevent children from picking up the habit, but certain products are still making their way to the market and into the hands of kids.

Zorn said she doesn't know what type of vapes Wynn was smoking.

She's urged parents to 'talk to your kids', adding: "People think that we're exaggerating or, 'Oh, this can't happen to my kid.' … The death rate among kids vaping is very low, yes, but the rate of kids ending up in the hospital and the kids getting sick is on the increase, not the decrease."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the use of e-cigarettes are 'unsafe for kids, teens, and young adults'.

Advert

Most of the devices contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development. They can also contain other harmful substances besides nicotine.

Featured Image Credit: Fox News

Topics: Health, US News, Vaping

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
5 days ago
6 days ago
  • ABC
    an hour ago

    Teen who lost limbs in horrifying shark attack details the one thing she heard before incident

    The teenager spotted the shark prior to the attack in Florida

    Community
  • Getty Images/Me 3645 Studio
    5 days ago

    Expert issues warning about new 'job hugging' trend which could ruin your career

    You might know every little corner of your office now, but are you hanging on for the sake of it?

    Community
  • SWNS
    5 days ago

    Couple finally discover wild truth behind mysterious stranger in their wedding picture four years later

    The couple now know the hilarious story as to why a 'random stranger' was at their wedding

    Community
  • Getty Stock Image
    6 days ago

    Psychologists issue stark warning on why you should never be 'best friends' with your parents

    Experts have expressed concerns about something known as 'parentification'

    Community
  • Woman who 'died for 24 minutes' details waking up to her 'second life'
  • OpenAI explains four ways it's changing after teen died by suicide following ChatGPT conversation
  • Woman died tragically with skin attached to her couch after sitting in it for six years
  • Woman reveals the surprising health benefits she’s noticed just one month after quitting vaping