Parents of whooping cough victim share heartbreaking video of baby’s final days

BABY Riley was admitted to hospital after developing a tiny cough. Within days, his lungs were destroyed and his life came to a tragic end.

‘My blood runs cold listening to him’

THIS is the video every anti-vaxxer needs to see.

The devastated parents of four-week-old Riley Hughes, who died of whooping cough last year, have shared confronting vision of the struggling infant’s final days.

In an emotional Facebook post, mum Catherine said she had kept the videos to herself since Riley’s death in March of 2015 but felt compelled to share the heartbreaking clips in an effort to convince other parents to take measures against spreading the disease.

“I have always kept these videos to myself, as it makes my blood run cold listening to my beautiful boy cough like that,” she wrote.

“But we are sharing this in the hopes that it will convince just one more pregnant mum to protect their baby from this disease.”

The cough that killed Riley Hughes

*Warning - contains content that some may find distressing*These are the final videos of our beautiful son Riley who passed away from whooping cough on the 17th of March, 2015.I have always kept these videos to myself, as it makes my blood run cold listening to my beautiful boy cough like that. But we are sharing this in the hopes that it will convince just one more pregnant Mum to protect their baby from this disease. I wish I had known about pregnancy vaccination when I was pregnant with Riley.In the beginning, Riley didn't have a "whoop" sound in his cough, but it certainly developed once he was in hospital. If your newborn baby has a cough, and is too young to be vaccinated, please get them checked out by a doctor! Early intervention CAN help.I loved being Riley's Mum for those four weeks. I wish it were longer. Please share to help ensure no more babies die from this disease, which I hope one day will be relegated to the history books.- Riley's Mum x

Posted by Light for Riley on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Mrs Hughes has previously said how she was vaccinated as a child and received the booster shot three years before Riley’s birth, “and was told by medical professionals this was sufficient”.

Baby Riley was admitted to Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital when a tiny cough took over his body.

The cough developed into a “whoop” sound and left the little boy struggling to breath. Within days, the disease destroyed his lungs and heart and ultimately took his life.

Too young to be vaccinated, Riley’s family had been defenceless to the highly contagious disease.

But along with dealing with the loss of their baby, Riley’s parents have used their experience to campaign for awareness of the importance of vaccinations, and making sure new mums know what they can do to keep their babies healthy and prevent their children from infecting other kids.

Greg and Catherine Hughes have bravely shared their experience in the hope it will inspire other parents.

“Whooping cough can be deadly in young babies ... but it can now be prevented,” Mrs Hughes writes.

“A whooping cough vaccine in the 3rd trimester of each pregnancy provides excellent protection from whooping cough to newborns (who are too young to be vaccinated). Keeping those who are sick away from newborns is also important.”

The family has made it their mission to “help ensure no more babies die from this disease”.

“I loved being Riley’s mum for those four weeks. I wish it were longer,” Mrs Hughes captioned the very personal video message.

“Please share to help ensure no more babies die from this disease, which I hope one day will be relegated to the history books.”

Riley Hughes was only four weeks old.

He died on 17 March, 2015.

Originally published as Parents of whooping cough victim share heartbreaking video of baby’s final days