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| Infant and Child Vaccines: Personal Testimonies |
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The Hospitalization of Colin, Mary-Clayton Enderlein's Newborn Son |
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| By Mary-Clayton Enderlein |
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| During my ninth month of pregnancy, I was exposed to whooping cough by an unvaccinated playmate of my older son. Even though as an adult my own symptoms were relatively mild, I would soon realize the dangers of transmitting the disease to my newborn son. Young infants, such as my son Colin, are within the age range in which the disease poses the most danger for severe complications and even death. |
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| I gave my son Colin pertussis with my first kiss and would watch him suffer with the disease for the first few months of his life. Pertussis left him exhausted because he would cough continuously until he turned blue and threw up, gasping for breath. At one week of age, he was hospitalized for ten days and placed on continuous monitors and intravenous medications. The effects of the disease continued for many months even after he was discharged from the hospital. Watching him closely and listening to every heartbeat, I understand what it feels like to watch your child battle a potentially fatal disease far before they even take their first steps into the new world. I would encourage all parents to be on the lookout for pertussis and suspect it in older children and adults before they spread it to younger children and infants. No child is safe unless he or she is vaccinated against pertussis, a decision that unfortunately for Colin, we never had the choice to make. |
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| This statement provided Mary-Clayton Enderlein, appears on http://www.pertussis.com, a project of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP). It is reprinted here with permission of NAPNAP, the copyright holder. |
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| For more information, please visit
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/pertussis.html. |
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| Published 5/25/05 |
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| Disclaimer: The Immunization
Action Coalition (IAC) publishes
personal testimonies for the purpose
of making them available for our
readers' review.
Please note that information in the
testimonies may be outdated and may
not reflect the current immunization
schedule or recommendations. |
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| Infant and Child Vaccines |
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| This page was updated
on July 16, 2021. |
| This page was reviewed
on July 16, 2021. |
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Immunize.org • 2136 Ford Parkway • Suite 5011 • Saint Paul, Minnesota • 55116 |
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tel 651-647-9009 • fax 651-647-9131 |
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Immunize.org (IAC), a non-profit organization, works to increase immunization rates and prevent disease by creating and distributing educational materials for health professionals and the public that enhance delivery of safe and effective immunization services. IAC also facilitates communication about the safety, efficacy, and use of vaccines within the broad immunization community of patients, parents, healthcare organizations, and government health agencies. |
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