I am posting one of my older blogs today because Linda G Hill’s post The MMR Vaccination Debate – a Parental Perspective. really made me think and think hard . My two older children both in their forties did not have the MMR . I was advised against it because they both had chronic Asthma . They both had Measles , Mumps and Whooping Cough. I decided the third son would have all vacinations . Somehow he developed Whooping Cough before his second week of life. He is in his thirties now with a wife and baby.
Please have the vaccinations if they illnesses return they are killers! Here are links to imformation but do investigate for yourselves.
Whooping Cough MMR Vaccinations
Whooping Cough
He was always being sick, I was not imagining it nor was I imagining that noise he was making . It sounded like whooping cough, but he was only two weeks old?
I was at my whits end, he had started being sick before I had even left the hospital, yet no one would listen to me. I had had enough and so here I was in the Drs surgery siting in the hallway, because my beautiful baby was coughing so much he was being sick and I could not stand the reproving looks from the other waiting, patients.
I was sweating and stressed I knew this baby was ill, I had been through some very scary things with my other two boys . P spending the first fortnight of his life in an incubator because he had ‘post natal distress’ . Both boys had had collapsed lungs due to asthma, M had had his tonsils out then hemorrhaged when I got him home! he and P had both had Measles and Mumps and chickenpox to name a few , need I go on I did know a sick child when I saw one!
Finally the Dr called us in. I had known him now for the last nine years and he insisted we use first names which did make things feel easier. He was not happy with J, he was not sure if he had a blockage in his throat or stomach but also felt that as I knew my baby best, I could be right in my diagnosis ! I can tell you now I did not want to be right!
All the Dr could do was pat me on the shoulder and pack us off to the nearest hospital. He had rung ahead and alerted the pediatric ward of our plight. I do no remember how I got to the hospital , there were no mobile phones, I did not drive in those days and I doubt I took the bus. I should think I had either phoned my husband from the surgery,and as all of my friends who drove would also of had children and I could not in all conscience expose any of them to whatever it was that J had.
I remember being in the hospital though, I was with J in a single room. A glass wall separating us from the nursing station. I did not realize immediately that J was on the danger list and we were in a Barrier Nursing Ward. I was wearing a gown and watching my baby, my little boy sleeping fitfully and coughing , coughing, coughing!
I spent whole days there and often late into the evenings, my husband joining me as often as he could. My neighbour helped by picking the boys up from school and feeding them for me. I had often looked after her daughter, even taken her on holiday……. but I still felt bad. I would drop them off at school in the morning then go straight up to the hospital. I don’t remember how but I managed to shop and do the washing look after the boys and one weekend we even had visitors.
One weekend my husband brought P and M and the little girl next door to see J, they were not allowed on the ward so my husband walked them right round the building and they waved and made faces through the window….. good job we were on the ground floor. It hurt me to see them touching the glass, looking so sad, they really loved and missed J.
For some reason it took the medical staff nearly a fortnight to finally tell us for certain that J had Whooping Cough! How did he get that straight out of hospital, I just don’t know. He was so ill it was awful, I had to watch him suffering that awful cough. Every time he was sick I had to feed him a bottle of milk then he would sleep then the cough would start. Then one weekend I had gone home for a rest, ( we had visitors ). I had just had a bath and got ready to face the world when the hospital rang to say it was touch and go. They asked us not to come in as there was nothing we could do and we would only get upset.
Get up set ?……… I was upset. I stood in the hall looking at the phone, when our guests came out to ask when we were going out for our meal. ……. I don’t remember what or if I ate all I remember is worrying…………….
However he made it through the night, he took months to recover infact it was over a year before he really improved. I could not take him out until the summer, he was born in the January and was not able to be taken out until late May early June.
He is a grown man now with a baby of his own….
Feb 09, 2015 @ 13:30:01
Agreed!! My heart breaks for you. What a time you must have had, Willow. Thank you for sharing this with us. ♡
Feb 09, 2015 @ 13:43:56
It is so awful to watch your children struggling for life. My eldest could not breathe when he was born. He was in intensive care for over a fortnight. That was unavoidable but if people ignore the advice about the MMR and Whooping Cough well that is Criminal.xxx
Feb 09, 2015 @ 18:58:58
I cannot imagine. It was hard watching my sister lose her baby boy when he was five. It is criminal. xx
Feb 09, 2015 @ 19:57:21
Yes it is . Hugs !!
Feb 09, 2015 @ 15:31:10
Agreed. Get all vaccinations. They’ve been tried and true for a long time now.
Sorry to hear you all had such a difficult beginning.
Feb 09, 2015 @ 18:00:12
We all survived and we all grew!! Hugs! ❤
Feb 09, 2015 @ 21:06:16
Yes. Yes and yes. 🙂
Feb 09, 2015 @ 21:13:43
And again yes.
Feb 09, 2015 @ 21:17:26
❤ ❤ ❤
Feb 09, 2015 @ 16:35:34
My God that is a heart breaking story Willow. i am so glad everyone came through in one piece. Thank you for sharing that.
Feb 09, 2015 @ 17:58:59
Yes it was very hard at the time but yes we are all here to tell the tale! xxxx
Feb 09, 2015 @ 19:10:25
It seems there are no clear cut solutions, we must weigh the pros/ cons of vaccinations. In the past it was a no brainer, everyone got them in the states as a matter of course, to enroll on school etc.
But now many parents are opting out of mandatory MMR due to risk of autism caused by Thimerasol (Mercury poisoning) in the vaccine. It’s a difficult choice to make for your baby. Most parents choose to vaccinate before school age, to give the infant’s immune system a chance to respond to vaccinations. More independent research need to be done. Only then can the public make an informed decision.
For the record, my parents chose NOT to vaccinate me, for religious and health reasons, fortunately i was never sick as a baby or adult. I would suggest every parent do extensive research before deciding the fate of their child. Thank you.
Feb 09, 2015 @ 19:56:38
That is exactly what I am advocating!
Feb 09, 2015 @ 22:57:45
The last comment re autism is nonsense; discredited research that as wrongly scared parents and still is it seems. The man behind it, Andrew Wakefield has now been struck off. Yet it is still being pedalled. My dad’s hearing was permanently scarred form measles so it is beyond selfish not to immunise…. off the soap box and poor you. Really grim. The Lawyer at about 15 months had bronchiolitis and was put in a n oxygen box for three days barely able to breathe..Utterly ghastly and is seared into my memory so I guess I understand how it felt. Good reminder if one was needed…
Feb 10, 2015 @ 06:51:55
I whole heartedly agree the vaccine is is safer than the diseases! Everyone should have them having seen measles, mumps, whooping cough first hand. Sorry to hear about the Lawyer things like that never leave your mind. Yes check information but also check its credentials. Thanks for reading Geoff.
Feb 11, 2015 @ 01:46:55
I so remember those days of sitting in the hospital wondering if my baby was going to make it through. Alex was in hospital for the first 8 months of his life – the worst had to be the Christmas when he had his heart surgery. He was hooked up to so many machines… and then on New Years Eve the hospital called to say his kidneys had shut down. I was actually in the hospital for his code blue – his heart had stopped, and that after I told the doctor he wasn’t doing well They ignored me up until they had to resuscitate him. Ugh.
All this to say I know exactly what you went through – and I had two boys at home as well.
Thanks for sharing this Willow. You brought it all back in vivid colour, and at the same time made me feel grateful that Alex is still with us. 🙂
Feb 11, 2015 @ 08:37:33
Yes it is painful to remember but as you say so good the boys (yours and mine ) are with us today. So if we can alert new patents to the pros for vaccination all the better. xxx