A 22-year-old man who survived a medical crisis with only a 1% chance of recovery is urging others to rethink vaping. Jackson Allard from North Dakota had been using e-cigarettes since his mid-teens, and his family had long worried about how much he vaped. Their fears became real last October when he fell seriously ill.

Jackson first went to the emergency room with stomach pain, but doctors soon discovered a much deeper issue. Tests showed he had Influenza A and double pneumonia, a severe infection in both lungs. As his oxygen levels dropped, doctors placed him on a ventilator to support his breathing. Before the procedure, he told his family he was scared and didn’t want to be alone.

When his condition failed to improve after several days, Jackson was moved to ECMO, an advanced form of life support, and transferred to the University of Minnesota. His doctors warned the family that his odds of survival were barely one percent. Years of vaping had left his lungs so damaged that his only chance of living was a double lung transplant.

Before the surgery could happen, Jackson went into cardiac arrest in December and had to be resuscitated. Despite the setback, he pulled through and was strong enough for the transplant on January 1. The operation succeeded, and he was soon able to breathe on his own again. His grandmother said he looked stunned when he took his first free breaths.

Jackson’s recovery will be lifelong. He can never smoke or drink again and will likely need another transplant in the future. He now hopes his experience will warn others, saying he never wants anyone to go through what he endured.