Sandra Tanrikulu is an Australian mom whose month-old baby contracted whooping cough. She recorded her tiny child fighting the infection and uploaded it to the internet, hoping to educate people about the dangers of not vaccinating their children.
Tanrikulu’s baby was too young for preventative shots and caught whooping cough, an upper respiratory infection that is extremely contagious, from children who had not been protected against it.
In the video, the baby suffers a severe coughing fit that causes her to stop breathing due to choking, which is the main reason whooping cough is so dangerous for babies.
Tanrikulu said she and her husband were very lucky to be in a hospital where their daughter could be observed around the clock, or she may have died.
She advises parents to not dismiss even a small cough in a baby as it could turn into serious respiratory distress very quickly.
