Dana’s Legacy
I poured my heart (and more than a few tears) out recently about the shocking death of a baby girl. A baby girl who belonged to two dear friends of mine – Toni and Dave.
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Despite their shock and grief at the senseless loss of their beautiful daughter, they have been incredibly brave and faced the media and shared their story. Perhaps, they hope, it will save another family from the heart-breaking ordeal they are enduring. It might shock people out of their ignorance, their apathy in not ensuring each and every community member is immunised against a preventable, deadly disease. It has taken some almighty intestinal fortitude (in the midst of their grief) for Toni and Dave to share the image of their 4-week-old daughter as the face of the current epidemic of whooping cough sweeping through low-vaccination regions of our country.
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Toni and Dave were vaccinated, as were their two older children.
But someone, or even more than one person who came near Dana, were not.
And they carried the virus that would fly through the air and infect her.
As Toni says:
“We possibly dreamed our darling girl would be a statistic, maybe like the one percent who make the Olympic Games.
.
We never, in our worst nightmares, imagined that THIS was the statistic she would be”.
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You can read Dana’s story, in Toni’s own words, here.
It will break your heart.
You know, I have spoken to my grief-stricken friend a couple of times since hearing the news.
And we have been in constant email contact.
I have felt every moment of her ordeal as she shared those final, terrible days.
But only tonight, I realised something strange.
Remember when I took this photo ?
…of Violet’s four-year-old immunisation band-aid.
I looked at the date, and saw that she had had her shot just two days after Dana had died.
I knew those shots were important at the time.
But I never knew just how close the threat of the disease (against which my daughter had just been vaccinated) really was.
I do now.
Please, wherever you live in the world, pass on this message and the links provided.
No-one should die of whooping cough.
Certainly not in any country that has reasonable vaccination regimes.
Certainly not in any community that values human life.
Don’t let it happen again.
6 Comments
Debby
Oh, my gosh. I missed the part that she was only 4 weeks old. This is such a sad, sad story, but I am truly in awe of parents who could step forward in the middle of their heartbreak, to use their story to try to make a difference. This is courage.
Cactus Jack Splash
Adults also need an update on this immunization. I didn’t know that until I caught whooping cough from a student who wasn’t immunized. I had all my shots growing up, but it seems that this is one of the few that needs to be updated as an adult and I had no idea.
Woman in a Window
dear god, I am undone for them. tragedy of the worst kind.
Jayne
That is so brave of them to speak out like they have at such a wrenching time.
sues2u2
All I can say is, Amen, BB. Getting the word out about vaccines is something we can all do & people need to be reminded, unfortunately, that we can't ever let up.
I admire your friends for realizing that they have the perfect opportunity to educate others. Imagine the lives that can & will be saved because of their determination in the hardest days of their lives. The "Footsteps" poem comes to mind. I pray w/ all my heart that they will be comforted by their efforts. I came very close to loosing my oldest & I can only imagine how hard it is.
Gina
My brother had whooping cough when he was 4 weeks old. He was one of the fortunate ones who lived.
This story is so sad. Your right BB, no child should die from this. Bless her parents for getting the story out and for you passing it on. I was not aware that adults needed to up date their vaccinations. Will be checking into that real soon. Will also be putting this story on my Facebook.
My prays are with the family and friends of Dana.