North Dakota
22-year-old gets double lung transplant after hospitalization resulted from years of heavy vaping
A North Dakota man was given a 1% chance of survival after being hospitalized and put on life support while in need of a double lung transplant as his oxygen levels dropped after years of heavy vaping.
Jackson Allard, 22, went to a clinic in October after complaining about stomach aches and was admitted because of low oxygen levels, where he was diagnosed with Influenza 4 and double pneumonia, while his condition worsened, and was subsequently transferred to the University of Minnesota, according to a GoFundMe page.
“A doctor said he had a 1% chance of living and we said, ‘He’s fighting,’” Allard’s grandmother Doreen Hurlburt told Valley News Live.
After being admitted into the hospital, Allard’s condition declined so dramatically that doctors decided to put the Fargo native on life support to rest his body, according to the Wahpeton Daily News.
Hurlburt says her grandson developed his symptoms from his terrible habit of vaping, which at one point got so bad during his three-month hospital stay that his heart stopped beating, leading to doctors giving a poor prognosis.
“He’s fought for how many weeks we’re going to give him a chance to fight, we’re not going to stop any procedures or anything’.”
Hurlburt says she told Allard to quit vaping as experts had earlier deemed it to be worse than traditional smoking methods.
“You have to stop vaping, and we kept telling him that over and over and over again, and he was a heavy vaper. He vaped all the time,” Hurlburt said.
Allard, who was described as “friendly, outgoing, energetic and fun” responded to his family criticism with, “It’s better than cigarettes.”
His grandmother countered his argument with “well they said, with cigarettes in 50 years you’ll have lung cancer, in 5 years, if you vape they will see you with permanent lung damage.”
The US Food and Drug Administration and other health experts agree that electronic cigarettes are far less dangerous than traditional ones, but some are calling for a surgeon general’s report that could help clear the air of the health risks of the modern smoking trend.
“There have been so many confusing messages about vaping,” Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University recently said. “A surgeon general’s report could clear that all up.”
While sitting alongside the hospital bed, Hurlburt feared she would lose her grandson.
“I thought for sure we were going to lose him. I thought for sure he’s not going to survive this, but in my mind I kept picturing him coming home,” she told KVLY-TV.
While the double lung transplant saved Allard on January 1, his life will forever be changed, in both the short and long-term aspects.
The former vaper and his mother will have to stay in Minnesota for the next six months for his regular checkups.
Allard can also never smoke or drink again and will eventually need another transplant later in life.
In a similar heartbreaking scenario, doctors used breast implants to save a Missouri man who needed a double lung transplant after his organs began to shut down after a decade of heavy vaping.
Davey Bauer was saved last May after going into cardiac arrest, with doctors’ only option being to remove the damaged lungs and place breast implants into his chest cavity to keep his heart from shifting out of place.
“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:7
These verses have been used to justify all kinds of land disputes in the Middle East. Indeed, I have heard people in Christian circles in our own country use this verse to justify their support for Israel in wars to preserve “their” God-given land, because the Israelites were the children of Abram (later called Abraham).
While that is true, Abraham was the father of two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Jewish and Christian believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Isaac. Muslim believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. Therefore, the land God gave to Abraham, and his descendants is not Jewish land, Muslim land or Christian land. It belongs to all of these “cousins” who believe in God/Yahweh/Allah (etc.….).
One of the most alarming trends in the world of faith is the rise of religious nationalism. According to Wikipedia, “religious nationalism is the fusion of national identity with religious beliefs, where a nation is defined by a shared faith, and religion serves as a central pillar of its political and social life. It seeks to align government policies and laws with religious doctrines.” This happens among all of the cousins of Abraham’s descendants. There are Islamic nationalists, Jewish Zionists, and Christian nationalists, and they are all dangerous.
In the same way Zionists will claim the Middle East as given to them by God, religious nationalists use the beliefs and texts (Bible, Koran) out of context to rationalize their political views, policies and even wars. They attempt to convince people that one political viewpoint supports their faith, and others do not. In the United States, Christian nationalism is on the rise. Politicians repeatedly use scripture to support their policies and ideals, attempting to convince us that what they are doing is the “Christian” thing to do, when, in fact, quite often these policies and ideals not only have nothing to do with the Christian faith, but they also occasionally go completely against it.
I once heard a state politician say, “It’s my God-given right to carry a gun.” Say WHAT??? God did not give anyone the right to carry a gun. Period. That’s just foolishness. And nobody even commented about it, which tells me it doesn’t bother us to hear people say things like that.
Our faith in God, no matter which branch of the family tree we come from, should “inform” our political and ethical views, but we cannot become like other countries and base our laws on one religious belief or another. Especially in a country where we are diverse in our religious beliefs. This is not a “Christian” nation, a “Muslim” nation or a “Jewish” nation. It is a nation of people who come from all kinds of faith traditions, and we are promised the freedom to practice our religion, no matter what it is.
God gave the descendants of Abraham – all of the descendants of Abraham — blessings too numerous to mention. We can be grateful for those blessings without trying to claim all of them as our own.
Rev. Janel F. Kolar is the pastor at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Dickinson, North Dakota.
BISMARCK — Fargo Shanley shined in a battle of unbeatens Saturday afternoon at Sanford Sports Complex, while unseating the defending state champion.
The Deacons got goals from Carly Hulstein, Emma Rohrich and Annie Yablonski to earn a 3-0 victory against Mandan for the North Dakota girls soccer state championship.
Shanley completed its unbeaten season, while shutting out defending champ Mandan for the first time this spring.
“The girls were excited to play Mandan, two undefeated teams and someone had to come out as the winner,” Deacons head coach Ryan Christianson said. “Whoever worked the hardest was going to come out champions, our girls were hungry.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
The Deacons (13-0-4) won their first state crown since 2019 and third overall. Mandan (17-0-1) fell one win shy of a repeat.
“Tough game, I felt like we controlled the game, to be honest,” Mandan head coach Aaron McElwee said. “We knew they would be dangerous on set pieces and that’s what they created.”
Shanley converted on a corner kick in the opening half for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Hulstein got a late head touch on a corner off the foot Rohrich, giving the Deacons a 1-0 lead with 16 minutes remaining until halftime.
“The first goal in the first half, that sparked momentum,” Christianson said. “Coming off of last year, we scored a bunch of corners, but this year I think we only had one or two. To make it count in the state championship game, I’ll take it.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
The first insurance goal for the Deacons came with less than 18 minutes left in the second, as Rohrich scored off a rebound.
“That second goal was a hustle effort by Emma with an awesome finish,” Christianson said. “Emma was locked in from yesterday’s game, two goals sparked the fire and led into today. She deserved that one.”
Yablonski, a freshman, scored her first varsity goal for a 3-0 lead with 1 minute, 31 seconds remaining, as Mandan tried to apply pressure late.
“Annie with the cherry on top with the deep ball after the goalie was pushed up to help her team,” Christianson said. “That’s a way to start off your varsity career. She was close earlier in the game with a shot that went wide of the post, but that was a heads-up play by her, noticing the goalie was out.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
Mandan’s best chance came from senior Sarah Helderop, off a corner kick in the second half, but Shanley goalkeeper Kailey Ottmar knocked the ball down and grabbed the rebound before any Braves players could arrive.
“Kailey was focused from the beginning of the game, usually I talk to her a bit, but she wanted to be by herself,” Christianson said. “She didn’t have to do too much, but there was a corner, a free kick. She was heads-up and had a good handle on the ball.”
Ottmar finished with six saves to earn the shutout. Gabby Frohlich had three saves for Mandan.
“Congrats to Shanley,” McElwee said. “We were close.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court
North Dakota
Shelly Frances, Minot, Chapter 7
Garrett Joseph Farnsworth, Bismarck, Chapter 7
Aaron James Goette, Horace, Chapter 13
Destinee L. Reed, Grand Forks, Chapter 7
LaWayne and Ruthanna Smith, Surrey, Chapter 13
Sabrina Marie Odegaard, formerly known as Sabrina Marie Wagner, Dickinson, Chapter 7
Krysti Mae Bench, formerly known as Krysti Mae Gainey, Fargo, Chaper 7
Tera Carleen Geyer, formerly known as Tera Dutchak, Dickinson, Chapter 7
Heath Alan Schaffer, LaMoure, Chapter 7
Nicholas Duane Noel, Fargo, Chapter 13
Jason Walter Lautt, Jamestown, Chapter 7
Bryan Lee Drinkman, Grand Forks, Chapter 7
Melia Kay Thompson, Grand Forks, Chapter 7
Roger Pelzer, Minot, Chapter 13
Jason Valentine and Amy Marie Keller, Bismarck, Chapter 13
Jaden Allen McGregor, Horace, Chapter 13
Rodney John and Jennifer Rebecca Brown, Williston, Chapter 13
Kayden Michelle Pavlicek, Dunn Center, Chapter 13
Minnesota
Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.
Tyler Erick Nelson and Lisa Ann Nelson, formerly known as Lisa Costello, Dilworth, Chapter 13
Ethan Kenneth Edwards and Katherine Elizabeth Edwards, formerly known as Katherine Thornsburry, Park Rapids, Chapter 7
Amber Rae Durkin, formerly known as Amber O’Beirne, and James Robert Durkin, Bemidji, Chapter 13
Sierra Jade Ileene Isum, East Grand Forks, Chapter 7
Elizabeth Charlotte Smith, also known as Betsy Smith, Ogema, Chapter 7
Rebecca Lacey and Matthew Ian Angell, Alexandria, Chapter 7
Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.
Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.
Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.
Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.
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