Lucky baby boy Kaiden had been immunised
An Auckland mum who witnessed her baby boy turn blue and struggle for breath says she would have likely lost him that day had he not been vaccinated.
In March last year, Kaiden Russell, who was only 4 months old at the time, was rushed to Middlemore Hospital after his mother suspected whooping cough, also known as pertussis.
Turns out, she was right — the nurse diagnosed it straight away and he spent three days in the hospital recovering from the disease.
“It was really, really scary and heartbreaking seeing your child suffer like that,” said mum Natalie.
She believes, and her doctors agreed, her son could have died had he not had his first dose of the pertussis vaccine at six weeks.
“He responded within 24 hours of getting medicine so we were so lucky he had that first dose; it could have been fatal otherwise.”
Now, the “boisterous and confident” tot is healthier and livelier than ever.
But looking back, Natalie says she wouldn’t have expected him to get the disease in the first place.
“Our whole family had all been immunised and he’d had his first dose — so it definitely makes you more aware that this kind of thing can still happen and it is so serious. People [need to] get immunised when they are supposed to.”
The pertussis vaccine is part of the free immunisation schedule for children in New Zealand. Babies get doses at six weeks, three months and five months. Booster immunisations are given to children when they’re 4 and 11 years old.
It was really, really scary and heartbreaking seeing your child suffer like that. Natalie Russell