An 11-month-old girl is to lose all her limbs to meningitis.
Harmonie-Rose Allen had only just started to walk when she was struck down with the potentially deadly bacterial form of the disease.
She is on a life support machine, and after initially being given just a 10 per cent chance of survival, is expected to live – but Harmonie-Rose's arms and legs must be amputated.
Family and friends in her home city of Bath, Somerset, are now hoping to raise more than £40,000 to pay for prosthetic limbs that will enable her to live as normal a life as possible.
Harmonie-Rose's aunt Hannah Hall, 31, said doctors did not think her niece would pull through.
She said: "The family feel like Harmonie-Rose's whole life has been robbed."
The little girl's mum and dad, Freya Hall, 20, and Ross Allen, first noticed something was wrong on September 27, when Harmonie-Rose woke in the night coughing.
Ross told his local paper: "She had been a little bit under the weather all week. But we just assumed it was a cold and because she was teething we put it down to that as well."
They took her to the Royal United Hospital in Bath as she was finding it difficult to breathe, but doctors couldn't find anything seriously wrong and she was sent home.
The next morning Harmonie-Rose turned 'all limp and she was blue' and the couple took her back to the same hospital.
After an assessment they were told it was just a virus and were again sent away.
But hours later she became floppy and lethargic and her parents took her to the hospital for a third time.
This time, a rash was spotted and Harmonie-Rose was then taken by ambulance to a specialist unit at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
Ross said: "It was absolutely horrible. She was really lucky to survive.
"Doctors told us it was the worst case they had seen in three years and they really didn't think she would make the journey to the hospital."
By the time she arrived at the intensive care unit, Harmonie-Rose's arms and legs had turned black and her parents were told all four limbs would need to be amputated. She is still being closely monitored by doctors.
The operation will be carried out in the coming weeks.
Ross said: "We're hoping that we can buy her two pairs of prosthetics – arms and legs that she can walk on.
"This will cost us about £40,000 – £20,000 per set – and we're hoping we can get her some pink ones.
"She's a little fighter and she is going to keep on fighting.
"We hope that she can carry on with life like any other children her age."
Harmone-Rose's family have set up a Facebook page where you can donate. Click here to find out more.
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