IT'S the Christmas they thought they would never have together. For Sharon Aldous, being with her baby Jenna and the rest of her family is a little miracle (Simon Alford writes).

Six months ago, both mother and daughter were both in hospital close to death.

Now they are on their way back to full health and Sharon, 36, from Ashford, is looking forward to her most memorable Christmas yet.

She said: "For me it's going to be so special. It could have been so, so different - I might not have been here. Jenna might not have been here.

"It's going to be very special that we are all together and we are all looking forward to it."

In September the Kentish Express newspaper was there when tiny Jenna, born 15 weeks premature and weighing little more than 1lb, came home for the first time from the Kent and Canterbury, aged four-months.

Sharon had been recovering with the support of partner Paul Shorter in Cleves Way, South Ashford, after four weeks in a coma at the William Harvey Hospital.

Now they are set for a real family Christmas with Jenna, now seven months old, and their three other children.

Tiny Jenna still weighs only 10lb and is not yet 2ft tall. She remains on oxygen to help her breathe and continues to have regular visits from nurses who monitor her condition.

She has been in and out of hospital and next year will be full of hospital appointments for the family, as doctors keep a close eye on Jenna's development.

Sharon is keeping a daily diary, including photographs, of everything that has happened to Jenna, so when she grows up she will be able to look back at her first few difficult months.

Sharon, who was struck down with a twisted bowel, septicaemia, gangrene and peritonitis, is still not back at work, but this does give her more time to spend with her little girl.

"It's been very tiring but the children have been fantastic and we've all enjoyed having her home," she said. "When I was in a coma a nurse started a diary for Jenna and me and when we got home I started another one. When she's older she'll understand what all the fuss was about.

"I wouldn't want another year like this one, it has been a real rollercoaster. Hopefully we'll be able to go away for a few days as a family, we're just taking each day as it comes."