'They accused us of murdering our son': Devastated mother is targeted by cruel 'anti-vaxxer' trolls after her baby boy tragically died from whooping cough at just 32 days old
- Riley Hughes tragically died from whooping cough at just 32 days old in 2015
- He died weeks before he could have his first vaccine against preventable disease
- His parents Catherine and Greg have since been advocating for immunisation
- However, the Perth couple have since been targeted by heartless anti-vaxxers
Catherine Hughes (pictured with her late son Riley) has revealed the nasty remarks she received from cruel 'anti-vaxxer' trolls after her baby died of whooping cough
The devastated mother of a four-week-old baby boy who tragically died from whooping cough has revealed the nasty remarks she received from cruel 'anti-vaxxer' trolls.
Catherine Hughes and her husband Greg have been advocating for parents to get themselves and their kids immunised after their 32-day-old son Riley died just weeks before he could have his first vaccine against the preventable disease.
The grieving parents, from Perth, were told if their newborn son had contracted the illness just weeks after getting his first round of vaccines, he would have survived.
But in March 2015, little Riley lost his life.
And instead of grieving in silence behind closed doors, the brave parents decided to share their heartbreaking story in an effort to encourage families to vaccinate.
However, the mother said they have since been targeted by heartless anti-vaxxers, who have even gone far to make up bizarre allegations against them.
'We've been told that our son never existed, or that Riley's death was orchestrated by the health department in order to promote immunisation. We were even accused of murdering our child and blaming it on whooping cough to get away with it,' Ms Hughes wrote for 10 Daily.
Catherine and her husband Greg started urging parents to get themselves and their kids immunised after their 32-day-old son Riley died just weeks before he could have his first vaccine against the preventable disease (pictured in March 2015)
In a powerful piece, Ms Hughes said she believed her son Riley's tragic death is 'clearly an uncomfortable truth for anti-vax activists'.
'They are so unsettled at the thought that a baby can die from a disease they refuse to vaccinate their own children against, that they resort to these ludicrous conspiracy theories just to make themselves feel better,' she said.
'Inventing conspiracies and lying about a child's death does nothing to further their movement, it simply demonstrates their struggle to grasp basic reality.'
Despite the horrible remarks, Ms Hughes said she and her husband will continue to advocate for immunisation in the hope their story would help prevent more children dying from the preventable disease.
Her latest story comes after she shared a gut-wrenching picture of the moment she realised she was going to lose her little boy to whooping cough.
The grieving parents, from Perth, were told if their newborn son had contracted the illness just weeks after getting his first round of vaccines, he would have survived
Instead of grieving in silence behind closed doors, the brave parents decided to share their heartbreaking story in an effort to encourage families to vaccinate
Riley died as a result of pneumonia-based complications arising from the disease.
'This is the moment my heart broke. This is the moment I realised you were unlikely to make it,' she wrote in June 2017 on the Light for Riley Facebook page, which she and her husband set up after the death of their son.
'This is the moment my life turned upside down. This is the moment I wanted to throw up in fear.'
Ms Hughes said her stomach felt like it was 'filled with rocks' and her hands started to shake when the doctor told her Riley wasn't going to make it.
'I felt like someone had reached into my chest and gripped my heart tightly, squeezing it,' she previously told Kidspot.
Ms Hughes said she didn't think the tragedy could occur to her family as they had always been supportive of vaccination.
'I felt shocked. Shocked that I wouldn't be taking home my baby. Shocked that I would never look into his beautiful blue eyes ever again,' she said.
Riley tragically died as a result of pneumonia-based complications arising from the disease
But despite thinking her life would be destroyed by her son's death, she said she has managed to persevere through the immense pain.
'I still have bad hours, and bad days, but I know that it's important to appreciate that fact that I am still alive. Riley didn't get his chance at a good life, and I will not waste mine,' she said.
Ms Hughes gave birth to daughter Lucy in August 2016 - 17 months after her little boy Riley passed away, which left her with a wave of conflicting emotions.
'The day we found out Lucy was a girl, I was hit with a huge wave of different feelings. More grief, knowing that I will probably never have a son again,' Ms Hughes explained.
'Relief, thinking it would be easier for me to hold a baby girl after the loss of a boy.'
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