Cancer patient urges parents to vaccinate
A woman with terminal cancer is asking parents to vaccinate their children after she suffered for 21⁄2 months with whooping cough.
West Auckland woman Bobbie Carroll was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in 2016.
After a year of chemotherapy, Carroll had a stem cell transplant which removed all the protection from vaccines she had in the past.
She said it had left her ‘‘vulnerable’’ to a variety of illnesses and she usually wore a mask when going out in public.
However, almost three months ago Carroll contracted whooping cough, an experience she described as ‘‘ghastly’’.
‘‘Since early October I had this awful prolonged cough and a lot of the time I couldn’t breathe. I’d be sitting on the couch just gasping for air.’’
Whooping cough causes bouts of coughing which can last two to three minutes.
It can linger for up to three months and can lead to pneumonia.
The highly infectious disease is spread through coughing and sneezing.
Carroll believed many people weren’t thinking about the impact not vaccinating their children could have on those with problems with their immunity.
‘‘I just find it incredible that in this day and age we still have whooping cough making the rounds,’’ she said.
‘‘To vaccinate your children is up to each individual parent, but I feel like people aren’t taking into account there’s people like me who rely on others having it.’’
Data from the immunisation schedule revealed 85 to 90 per cent of Kiwi children were vaccinated against whooping cough, which required three shots at age 6 weeks to 5 months, and another when they reached 4 years old.
Vaccine and booster shots were also available for adults as immunity could wane over time.
According to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), between January and November 2018 there were 2708 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of whooping cough.
During the same period in 2017, a total of 1315 cases were notified around the country.
New Zealand is currently in a national outbreak period of the disease, which was declared in October 2017.
Since Carroll got sick, she said she had been scared of going out in case she contracted whooping cough again.
‘‘I stay at home most of the time to keep myself safe. When I do go out I wear my mask at all times, but it means I can’t go out for dinners or to a cafe because it’s pretty hard to eat with a mask on.’’
Carroll said she knew she would one day die from either kidney disease or an infection, but she wanted the time she had left to be as healthy as possible.
‘‘It can be lonely at times. My partner has to be really careful as well because if she has a cold or a flu it could kill me,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve gotten used to having to stay apart from each other when she’s sick.
‘‘All I can say is please consider vaccinating yourself and your kids against whooping cough and help protect the people in New Zealand who are most at risk.’’