Tara and Gavin Hills , from Kanata , Canada , have been firmly in the anti-vaccination camp , that is until their seven children contracted whooping cough . At first , Mrs Hills thought her kids had a bad cold , but then she heard their deep , booming cough that made them gag and vomit - 'the kind of cough that stops a parent 's heart , ' she recalled to National Post . After looking up the symptoms online - powerful coughing fits , runny nose , stringy phlegm - the Hills took their ailing brood to the hospital on the morning of April 2 . Scroll down for video . Change of heart : Tara and Gavin Hills , have been anti-vaxxers for six years , but all that changed when their seven young children came down with whooping cough . Public confession : Mrs Hills , pictured left and right with her husband , penned a blog post about her decision to ditch the anti-vaxxer stance . Large brood : The Hills ' six sons and a daughter between the ages of 10 months and 10 years ( pictured ) remain in quarantine and are being treated with antibiotics . Four days later , lab tests confirmed whooping cough - an infection of the respiratory system characterized by severe coughing spells , which mainly affects infants and children between the ages of 11 and 18 . According to KidsHealth.org , before a vaccine was developed , whooping cough - also known as pertussis - killed up to 10,000 people in the US annually . The introduction of the vaccine has reduced the number of fatalities caused by the infection each year to 30 , but in recent years the number of cases has been on the rise . Tara Hills said she and her husband had their first three children partially vaccinated , but then stopped because they have grown suspicious of what she described on her blog , The ScientificParent.com , as the 'Big Pharma-Government-Media conspiracy . ' Weary : Tara wrote that she and her husband decided to stop vaccinating their children because they did n't trust the health care system . At risk : The Hills ' three eldest kids were partially vaccinated , but the four youngest ones got no shots at all , leaving them vulnerable . 'Were these vaccines even necessary in this day and age ? ' Mrs Hills wrote . 'Were we unwittingly doing greater harm than help to our beloved children ? So much smoke must mean a fire so we defaulted to the `` do nothing and hope nothing bad happens '' position . ' The Hills first began questioning their controversial anti-vaxxer stance after hearing of a massive measles outbreak at Disneyland earlier this year . At first , the parents ' fear of contagion proved weaker than their mistrust of the medical system . But then Tara and her husband started looking at information from government agencies and reputable health organizations . In an ironic twist - one of many in the story of the Hills ' evolution as anti-vaxxers - their children have been scheduled to get their first shots soon when whooping cough struck , reported CTV News . ' I looked again at the science and evidence for community immunity and found myself gripped with a very real sense of personal and social responsibility before God and man , ’ Tara Hills wrote on her blog , adding that one of her main concerns was that her kids may have infected her sister 's unvaccinated infant . The Hills ' youngest children are still battling the illness , but are expected to recover . Her six sons and a daughter ranging in age from 10 months to 10 years have been ordered to remain in quarantine at their house in Kanata until they stop being contagious , which will take five days . On Thursday , Mrs Hills said her two eldest children have turned a corner and are now on the mend , while the younger kids are still battling the illness with the help of antibiotics . In her blog post titled Learning the Hard Way : My Journey from # AntiVaxx to Science , which has been viewed more than 2million times , Hills acknowledged the awkward position she has found herself in . ' I ’ m writing this from quarantine , the irony of which isn ’ t lost on me , ' she wrote . ' I am not looking forward to any gloating or shame as this 'defection ' from the antivaxx camp goes public , but this is n't a popularity contest . Right now my family is living the consequences of misinformation and fear . '
Tara and Gavin Hills , from Canada , stopped vaccinating their children six years ago after losing trust in the health care system . All seven Hills kids , last week , came down with whooping cough between ages of 10 months and 10 years . Tara Hills did an about-face in the wake of her family 's health crisis , writing a blog post about how her stance on vaccination has changed .