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Thursday May 23, 2013

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David Armstrong thanks 3AW listeners for their support as baby Chloe is moved out of ICU

Posted by: Ellen Feely | 4 December, 2012 - 10:30 AM
Chloe Armstrong.

UPDATE: David Armstrong has passed on his gratitude to all 3AW listeners who passed on their support after he and his wife Eleanor's newborn baby Chloe was hospitalised with whooping cough.

Armstrong was happy to announce that after spending a week in the Royal Children's Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, Chloe has now been moved into a ward and there's hope she'll be out and about by Christmas.

LISTEN: David Armstrong with Justin Smith

"Thanks to every body here and so many of the listeners who passed on their kind thoughts," he told Justin Smith.

"Each and every one (was) so appreciated."

Armstrong was also thankful for all the help and support from the Royal Children's, saying he will now not be able to stop 'extolling the virtues' of the hospital.

"I'll be there on Good Friday digging deep," he said.

"What they did for our little girl was absolutely brilliant."

Earlier this month at just 19 days old, Chloe was hospitalised with Whooping Cough. She is now one month old.

Speaking with Neil Mitchell on 4th December, David Armstrong said he and his wife, Eleanor, had been seriously knocked around by their newborn daughter Chloe’s hospitalisation.

"She goes through these episodes and we get her back, but each and every one absolutely is frightful," he said.

"When she goes down and falls below a prescribed level, alarms (and buzzers) go off, nurses come from everywhere."

David Armstrong said they had worked out at approximately 120 people had come into contact with her daughter since her birth, and that most people had no idea that a whooping cough booster shot was needed if you were going to come in contact with babies.

"If you want to get in contact with a baby, if you've got the slightest of coughs, don't go near a little baby," he said.

"You can put your child down to sleep and your child can not wake up."

David said his daughter could stay in the Royal Children’s Hospital for up to three weeks as they ensure she has fully recovered.

Image

Chloe Armstrong in hospital with whooping cough. (Photo: Supplied)

He said some coughing fits had left Chloe turning blue, with a ‘frightful’ 15 to 20 second-wait between placing an oxygen mask on her and waiting for her to draw breath.

Dr Steve Parnis, President of the AMA Victoria, said despite the government declaring whooping cough as an ‘epidemic’ in January 2011, the state government had opted to scrap the free adult vaccination scheme this year.

"They had that program where the adults who give it to kids, who are the most likely and that is parents, had access to free vaccinations and that occurred until May this year," he said.

"The reasoning that they gave for the change was that the expert panel said there is uncertain clinical effectiveness of this so-called cocooning strategy.

"What I'm concerned about is the fact that on, I think, uncertain evidence...they've made this change. Why not continue this until the evidence becomes more robust?"

Dr Parnis said the first advice to he gave to people who had had a new baby was to get the vaccination.

"This is always a question of perspective, what's the cost of a paediatric intensive care unit bed if it's your child or loved one who's at risk of this?"

Dr Parnis said in 2008 there were 1,600 reported cases of whooping cough, jumping to 6,700 in 2010.

LISTEN: 3AW Newsreader David Armstrong and AMA Victoria President Dr Steve Parnis speak with Neil Mitchell:

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Blog comments Your Say

  • It's absolutely shameful that this vaccine is no longer provided free to new parents in most states.

    The vaccine CAN be given during pregnancy, although is not done so routinely.

    It's also shameful that the antivaccination lobby with their scaremongering tactics and lack of anything resembling decency have frightened many parents and fooled them into thinking vaccines are a tool to control the masses. ORLY? Don't even get me started on the magic water they claim is better than a vaccine.

    One in 200 babies who contract pertussis will die. Pretty scary for the parents.

    Caroline Shipley Monday 10 December, 2012 - 10:25 PM

  • Keep up the fight little Chloe!
    Tremora, when I was pregnant with my third they told me I would need the booster vaccine AFTER the birth of my son as you can't have it while pregnant, so to use the example you have is just ridiculous

    Stacey Friday 7 December, 2012 - 1:16 PM

  • Anyone who thinks the medical industrial complex is out to help them, or their kids needs to wake up, WHO READS THE VACCINE INSERTS FROM THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE VACCINES, NO ONE !!! YOU PEOPLE ARE ALL SO DAM LAZY WATCHING TV AND SOAKING UP PROPAGANDA TO EVEN KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON OUTSIDE YOUR LIVING ROOM !!! http://therefusers.com/refusers-newsroom/the-pertussis-vaccine-lists-autism-and-sudden-infant-death-syndrome-as-serious-adverse-events-on-the-package-insert/

    doug night Friday 7 December, 2012 - 10:37 AM

  • Thinking of Chloe and her family. Thank you for sharing your story to raise community awareness of the seriousness of this terrible disease and the importance of adult whooping cough boosters.
    To "Tremora": You refer to a particular stillbirth that was paraded by elements of the US anti-vaccination movement last week. If you read about it this week you would surely also have read it was due to hypoxia and Down Syndrome. Please don't come here with your obscene suggestion that the recently bereaved mother should watch this video. It is you who needs to have a very close look at the video and at your own motives for spreading scaremongering misinformation about protective vaccination of the contacts of newborn infants.

    Anne Wednesday 5 December, 2012 - 11:47 PM

  • Lay off Joan & Marco, of course it's a good thing to raise awareness of vaccinations, they both never said it wasn't, it's a fact though that 3AW, especially Mitchell only promote their own causes that please their mates or that will add to ratings. The whole organisation is steeped in nepotism, look at the fact that they give jobs to Darren Jame's son & any kid of a Liberal member who wants one, then complain women get jobs not on merit. They are the Foxnews of Australia.

    Matt-proudly Un-Australian Wednesday 5 December, 2012 - 11:52 AM

  • Best of luck to the family. As a fourth time dad David knows how precious our children are.

    JD Wednesday 5 December, 2012 - 11:48 AM

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