A Tennessee woman suffered horrific fourth-degree burns after an e-cigarette blew up in her face.
Cherylee Parker had only take up vaping that very day after deciding to quit cigarettes after nearly four decades.
As she reached into the fridge to grab something, the blueberry-flavored device she was clutching suddenly ‘sparked’ and set her elbow-length hair ablaze.
Within seconds, fire engulfed her head, clothing and carpet. Parker tried to douse herself with water, but the bathtub took ‘forever’ to fill.
Parker, now 49, said: ‘At that point I screamed, “God please take me. I’m ready, I can’t do this.”‘
She defaulted to classic ‘stop, drop and roll’ technique she remembered being taught in school as the flames filled her apartment.
This helped her put out the flames and call 911 – but by the time paramedics arrived, she had stopped breathing for several minutes.
Parker suffered third and fourth-degree burns on more than half her body, which destroyed muscle and bones, as well as her nerve endings. Her left ear and breast were also partially burned off.
Cherylee Parker (pictured here before her injuries) suffered burns to 55 percent of her body after her vape exploded
Even after being released from the hospital, Parker (pictured here) had to relearn how to walk, as the burns damaged her muscles
‘I didn’t have anything less than third-degree burns,’ she said.
Parker spent her first week in the hospital teetering between life and death, as the burns had left her prone to infections because damaged skin can’t keep contaminants out.
The injuries had also drained her body of fluid, leaving her at risk of severe dehydration.
She said: ‘[It felt like] I spent a week dying over and over again, they call it circling the drain.’
Over the course of three months, she underwent 15 operations to repair damage from the burns, which affected 55 percent of her body.
These included skin grafts, which involves taking pieces of healthy skin and attaching them to burned areas.
‘It was the worst pain. No one realizes unless you’re a burn survivor,’ she said. Parker estimates the treatments costed about $2million before insurance.
Parker’s injuries were so severe parts of her ear and breast burned off. She is pictured above recovering in the hospital
The above images show several of Parker’s most severe injuries, which took 15 surgeries and months of hospitalization to heal. At left is her arm and breast, part of which was burned off. At right is her leg
Once discharged in February 2023, she had to relearn how to walk, as the burns had damaged her muscles.
It’s unclear what exactly caused Parker’s e-cigarette to explode, but she believes it simply malfunctioned.
Experts say if the device feels hot to the touch or has strange sounds or smells coming out of it, it may be a sign the battery could malfunction.
Parker has since quit vaping and is now warning others to immediately ‘stop, drop and roll’ when being caught on fire.
The age-old method, widely taught in schools across the US, involves stopping and standing still, dropping to the floor and rolling on the ground until flames can be extinguished.
Parker is now warning against the hidden dangers of vaping and suggests the ‘stop, drop and roll’ method saved her life
Parker said: ‘If you’re ever unfortunately in the same position as me, my advice is to stop, drop and roll straight away, that should be your number one goal.
‘Because in that moment there’s a chance to save yourself, that’s the only thing that’s going to put the flames out.’
About six percent of US adults – about 17million – vape, according to the latest CDC data.
And the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates there are 1,000 e-cigarette injuries from explosions and burns per year.
