Lyn’s Story

For some Whooping Cough (pertussis) can be a persistent cough that lingers for months but for others it is a life altering illness and can sadly, prove fatal.

I acquired Whooping Cough in 1999 from a coughing, unimmunised child and it certainly changed my life plans.  It took nearly 2 months to get a diagnosis, and I was unwell with what was thought to be a chest infection.  However, I was whooping and vomiting with my coughing and losing considerable weight, eventually diagnosed and then requiring treatment for malnutrition!  For almost a year, I was unable to work and mostly bedridden. I was 42 with a young family and normally, a busy active life. Initially, the illness aggravated a mild asthma, and I did have a short stay in hospital where my family were told I may not survive. I was having apnoea (short periods of stopping breathing) and my chest and lungs felt raw.  Whooping was violent and went on for many months and I battled to survive, but I was always aware of 2 young girls who needed their Mum.

This long-protracted illness hit us hard financially and I lost the job I had held for many years. I was studying at the time and needed to defer and not returning to the same level of study afterwards, as recovery was long and hard.

There were many long-term health impacts and 23 – 24 years later these effects remain.  My asthma went from being mild to a brittle severe asthma requiring frequent emergency hospitalisations.  I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis which is a long-term lung disease where your airways are dilated yet produce excessive mucus which can be very difficult to cough up. I have frequent chest infections, requiring hospital admissions. My gut was also impacted by the consistent coughing, and the need for long term codeine, which was required to try and reduce that coughing, eventually resulting in the need for surgery.  My heart was impacted by lung disease, and I now have cardiac failure. There continues to be ongoing health issues associated with impacts or side effects of medications.

I did return to work for a few years but needed to retire due to ill health 8 years later. Thankfully, I have seen our daughters grow up and flourish and enjoy our grandchildren, but I never returned to the health I had prior to contracting whooping cough.

Due to the many residual health challenges, I am now unable to acquire insurance to travel overseas. This may not have been an issue previously, but I have family living overseas and I would have loved the option to visit them too.

Two years later, as I wasn’t recovering fully from Pertussis and requiring continual antibiotics, I was diagnosed with a Primary Immune Deficiency. Unknown previously, this had left me vulnerable to Whooping Cough and requires lifelong treatment with immunoglobulins.

This is not a disease to be trivialised, it is painful and life threatening, it ravages your body and leaves you scarred. It impacts your life and all those who love you.  I can’t stress enough the importance of being vaccinated – not only for your own health and well being but for those in your community who may be susceptible, and some may not be even aware they are vulnerable too.  Look after yourself and your family always and prevent whooping cough from drastically changing yours or their lives.