Mother's meningitis diary reveals how her healthy daughter was ravaged by the illness in just four hours

• Erica would have died if she hadn't called out for a glass of water in the night she fell ill
• Doctors tell her parents she had been just three hours from death
  

PUBLISHED: 07:42 EST, 22 August 2012 | UPDATED: 07:42 EST, 22 August 2012

A mother has released a chilling photo diary revealing how meningitis took her perfectly-healthy toddler to the brink of death - in just four hours.

Erica Scoffings had a slight temperature when her mother Michelle, 34, put her to bed as normal at 7.30pm.

But shortly before midnight the three-year-old woke up asking for a drink and her mum noticed purple blotches all over her body and a soaring temperature.

Michael and Michelle Scoffings with their daughter Erica who is recovering from meningitis

Erica on February 20. Fortunately doctors were able to save her legs

Erica, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was struck down with the potentially fatal brain bug in January this year.

The bright and bubbly toddler complained of feeling poorly and Michelle put it down to a stomach bug. But by the time Erica went to bed at 7.30pm she was feeling better.

But at midnight she called out asking for a drink and when Michelle picked her up she was horrified to find dark purple marks all over her body.

Michelle said: 'Erica said she couldn't move. I took the quilt off her and saw the purple marks.

'Me and my husband Michael did the glass test and then rushed to hospital. Not ringing and waiting for an ambulance was the best thing we could have done.

'You have to get to the hospital quickly and getting there in ten minutes made a difference.'

Erica, 3, was just three hours from death after she contracted meningitis

When they arrived at Chesterfield Royal Hospital they were told Erica was gravely ill and had just three hours to live.

Erica had meningococcal septicaemia and her body was rapidly poisoning itself - and if she didn't call out for a drink that evening she would have died.

An ambulance then raced Erica to Sheffield Children's Hospital later that night and she put into intensive care, where she battled for her life. Her legs went black as the septicaemia ate away at her flesh, exposing her bone.

Michelle said: 'It was awful, Erica was screaming all the time. I was a mess when the surgeon said she might have to have both legs amputated.

'Amputation was a last resort but it was definitely a possibility. Both her legs and her right hand were completely black.'

They show the breathing tube that kept her alive and her whole body covered in bandages.

Erica was later transferred to a specialist burns unit as the effect on her limbs was similar to severe burns, and she underwent skin grafts.

Her parents were warned her light have to amputated but they were saved using vacuum therapy, which encouraged the tissue to cover the bone.

Michelle added: 'The NHS has been fantastic. They told us everything that was happening.
Erica is so bubbly and intelligent. She kept saying 'one day I will walk again mummy' and we stayed really positive throughout the whole situation.

'She understands that she has been poorly but she has her appetite back now. She is a bit unsteady on her feet and will need splints to walk properly.'

Erica spent two weeks in hospital and has since returned three times for skin graft operations.

Now, less than eight months after being struck down by the illness, the tenacious toddler has amazed doctors by walking again and she is due to start nursery next month.

Michelle now wants to raise awareness of the symptoms of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia, which affects around 3,500 people in the UK each year.