A mother who lost her son to whooping cough has posted an emotional letter thanking the staff who worked so hard to save him.

 

At just 32 days old, Riley Hughes passed away after his whooping cough caused pneumonia-based complications.

 

 

Riley’s mum Catherine has now written a letter to the staff who tried to save him.

 

“Thank you to the clever doctor who correctly diagnosed Riley before receiving the swab results back, just by sound of his cough,” Catherine said in her open letter which she posted to Facebook.

 

 

“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 a huge punch in the gut, but it was important we were prepared.”

 

 

Posting the heartfelt appreciation letter to her Facebook page ‘Light for Riley’, the post has received over 10K likes and has been shared over 1,000 times.

 

“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,” Catherine’s post continued.

 

 

“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.”

 

 

The post as well as the page are all to raise awareness about the importance of vaccinations.

 

“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.”

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