No parent should ever have to go through the heartbreak of laying a child to rest.
That's doubly true for parents who know that their child's death was totally preventable.
It's a pattern we saw in the devastating drunk driving death of a 6-year-old girl, and it's a pattern we see whenever innocent children are put in danger by grown-ups who should know better.
For the Hughes family in Australia, the death of their baby boy Riley from whooping cough was exactly that type of preventable tragedy. Now the Hughes are doing everything in their power to help educate other families.
Riley was just weeks old when he caught whooping cough. At the time, Australia didn't offer a vaccine to pregnant women to protect newborn babies from whooping cough, also called pertussis.
He was too little for a vaccine of his own, so his system had no immune protections against the illness.
Now, his mom Catherine works tirelessly to educate other parents about the importance of vaccines, and to thank the compassionate medical staff who did everything they could to save Riley.
"I wrote this post because I see how much negative feedback health care workers sometimes receive," she tells LittleThings. "While I know mistakes sometimes do happen, we should never forget how hard these doctors and nurses work to save our children."
Scroll through below to read her powerful words to the nurses and doctors who fought for her baby boy every heartbreaking step of the way.
This grieving mom's powerful post to the medical staff that supported her family might just bring you to tears.
Ten thousand people have reacted to it on Facebook, and more than a thousand have shared her beautiful words.
Read on below for her full message:
Thank you to the nurses who helped entertain our daughter with toys and games when Riley was dying in hospital.
Thank you to the clever doctor who correctly diagnosed Riley before receiving the swab results back, just by the sound of his cough.
Thank you to the PICU doctors and nurses who kept us calm in an environment where you feel sad, desperate and scared.
Thank you to the doctor who told me there was a chance Riley could die.
I didn't like you at the time, purely because your words felt like huge punch in the gut, but it was important we were prepared.
Thank you to the kind nurses who tried to make sure we ate, drank, and rested when all we could think about was whether our son would make it or not.
Thank you to the doctor who put her own family’s life on hold while she worked tirelessly, staying back late and coming in early.
Thank you to the doctor who sat with us in the family room with the unenviable task of telling us that it was unlikely Riley would survive.
Thank you to the nurses and doctors who gave us time and space to say goodbye to our son as he passed away in our arms.
Thank you to the young nurse who came down to PICU after she heard that he didn’t make it, and cried with us.
Thank you to the nurse who carefully took his little hand-prints and foot-prints for us.
Thank you to the nurse who held our son's body in her arms as we left the hospital, sobbing.
Thank you to the nurse who stopped us in the hallway as we left, shocked that he didn’t make it, and hugged us tightly.
Thank you to the nurse who came to Riley's funeral and said such kind words to us.
And thank you to all the incredible doctors and nurses out there who talk to patients about the importance of vaccines, and what can happen when babies who are too young to be vaccinated contract a vaccine-preventable disease.
Doctors and nurses don't just save lives – they do so much more.
I know sometimes they receive a lot of abuse, but they really deserve our gratitude and thanks for all that they do.
x Riley's Mum
Riley only had one short month with his family, who loved him so dearly. But now, he is helping his parents spread the word about the importance of vaccinations, both for pregnant women and for young children.
Nothing will ever fill the hole Riley left for his parents or his big sister. But nearly two years after his death, they brought his little baby sister Rainbow into the world.
The Hughes family will never stop fighting for better whooping cough education. You can learn more about their cause from the Immunisation Foundation of Australia.
Please be sure to SHARE this powerful post with every parent you know, especially parents with brand-new little ones in their lives.
