Mom shares video of baby with whooping cough to show 'deadly' consequences of anti-vax movement
A mom’s warning is going viral on social media after her unvaccinated son caught whooping cough.
Jessica Boren shared the heartbreaking story of what happened to her 18-month-old son, Brody. In the Facebook post, she admitted that she took an “anti-vaxx” stance with her youngest child once he turned 6 months old, in part because of vaccination propaganda on social media.
Alongside photos and video of her son, she wrote, “This is a baby boy struggling to breathe and turning blue with every cough. Coughing for over a minute each time. Multiple times an hour. For five days. Getting worse by the second. This is my happiest child, unable to laugh without having a coughing spell.”
The Missouri woman said she took her son to the emergency room twice, and both times she was told her son had a viral infection. She said that her “mother’s instinct” kicked in — and she knew something was seriously wrong.
After doing some research on her own, Boren came to believe that Brody had pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough. While doctors claimed it was unlikely due to the rarity of the disease, Boren insisted that doctors test her son for it. After a positive result, Brody was admitted to the hospital, where he was “poked, prodded, X-ray’d, suctioned, connected to wires upon wires, unable to move and roam like a toddler desires.”
After four days in the hospital, Brody was released and went home to continue healing. While Brody will make a full recovery, Boren admitted that she feels an immense amount of guilt for putting her own child at risk and members of her community as well.
“This is NOT bashing the ‘anti-vaxx’ community. Nor placing blame or judgment on anyone. The decisions I made were MY decisions. Based purely on my lack of knowledge and fear. This is to show the consequences of not vaccinating my child correctly,” she wrote.
The post has been shared more than 95,000 times, and the responses are surprisingly positive.
“This is brave. Think of how many kiddos you may save from this by sharing your story,” read one comment. “I hope your son is doing better. Peace and love to you all, one parent to another. It is tough to see our littles so sick. Don’t punish yourself. Don’t feel guilty. You did what you thought was right. Much love to you all,” said another.
Boren is hopeful that her message will reach parents across the internet and spread awareness. “This is our story. In hopes that our awful experience can help educate other families. Praying no other mom or dad ever have to witness their child endure this,” she wrote. “This is why you SHOULD vaccinate and protect your children.”
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