Desperate for better options, Mitchell, who was in the coin laundry business before he got sick, got his oncologist in Michigan to call Duke University, known for its brain cancer expertise (and, recently, for operating on Senator Edward Kennedy).

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Whooping cough can get make infants sick to the point that they may stop breathing and die, or they can have problems with brain damage, Shu said.

CNN: Vaccination role unclear in whooping cough outbreak