Reply #29: I had whooping cough when I was fourteen

[NorthernSpy]

I think I've told this story here before, but...

When I fourteen, I contracted pertussis, also known as whooping cough. I'd been vaccinated, but as we now know, the pertussis vaccines given to babies in the 70s and 80s did not result in longterm immunity for some people. One of those people was me.

Talk about sick as dog!: I could scarcely breathe; sleep was nearly impossible except in brief spells; and there were moments when I was coughing so hard that I came pretty close to losing consciousness. Whether or not the pertussis had anything to do the respiratory problems that I developed afterwards -- and will have for the rest of my life, presumably -- I really can't say. But getting sick sure didn't help my lungs any.

Consider this, though: despite being exposed to me, none of my classmates got sick. This was by far the most important aspect of the entire episode. Vaccination is mandatory for school enrollment where I live. Dozens of kids who would otherwise have fallen seriously ill didn't. The shot protected them.


Mary