Hib: A Family’s Story – Transcript (Matthew’s Story)
Matthew’s Mother [0:02]:
A few years ago, our son Matthew, he was three years old at the time, complained that he had a pain in his neck. We thought maybe he was developing strep. He had a really high fever and he was sort of like hunched over and at that point we took him just to the local hospital.
Matthew’s Father [0:20]:
The paediatric doctor that they were able to get was an older doctor who had been around and he asked us you know a really important question
Mother[0.28]:
Was your son vaccinated? And at the time he wasn't.
Father [0:31]:
He thought he knew what it was, he said he wasn't positive, but he would know within minutes and he ordered some X rays.
Mother [0:38]:
The X rays confirmed that he did have Hib disease.
Doctor [0:42]:
Hib disease is infection caused by the bacteria Haemophilus influenzae type B. Before the vaccine about 20,000 children got serious Hib disease and about 1,000 died of it.
Father [0:57]:
Matthew’s windpipe was closing down quickly.
Mother [1:00]:
He said that your son is going to die within minutes.
Father [1:04]:
And he said quite honestly, we're not in a situation in this particular hospital that we’re prepared to help him.
Doctor [1:10]:
Since the introduction of Hib vaccine there's been a decline of more than 99%. Most physicians nowadays have not even seen this disease.
Mother [1:21]:
I'm thinking I’m going in there for strep, I'm not thinking I'm going in there for Hib disease and also not realizing that I could have prevented this as a mother if I have just got his shots.
Father [1:32]:
They had prepared two separate rooms with crash carts, and he was telling the nurses and the staff there that we need to be prepared. This child more than likely is going to die.
Mother [1:45]:
He was put into a slight coma and it was touch and go for a few days.
Father [1:52]:
Each day they would bring teams of physicians through to show them what kids are contracting without having vaccinations.
Mother [1:59]:
He spent six days in the hospital and then once we got him home from the hospital, we definitely got him fully vaccinated.
Father [2:08]:
We could have made a conscious decision not to vaccinate based on some information that we had at the time thinking that we're doing our best for Matthew.
Mother [2:17]:
We made the wrong decision and I know we're not the only parents out there that made this decision.
Doctor [2:22]:
Hib disease can be simply prevented by a vaccine series that's safe and effective.
Father [2:29]:
We didn't realise these diseases are still out there.
Mother [2:32]:
And we just really don't want anybody else to go through what we went through.
Father [2:36]:
We’re very thankful to still have our son.
Doctor [2:40]:
Check with your provider to see if immunisation is right for your family.
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