A five-month-old girl who nearly died twice in hospital after contracting two types of meningitis has made a dramatic recovery.

Lilly-May Butler suddenly became unresponsive and turned blue when being held by her mum Jade Bean, who frantically began trying to revive her.

An ambulance was called and the toddler was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital.

She said: “I was losing her in front of my own eyes, her heartbeat was going mad in the
ambulance, she was in a critical condition.

“I was told to prepare for the worst.”

Arriving at A&E, the toddler nearly died twice before being stabilised.

She was then transferred to King’s College Hospital, where she was diagnosed with blood poisoning and pneumococcal meningitis and spent the next two-and-a-half weeks in an
isolation room on the Thomas Cook ward before being transferred back to Medway.

The family were put up in Ronald McDonald House, just a short walk from the London hospital, which Ms Bean says was “made to feel as homely as possible”.

She said: “It was just such a horrible thing to get through, you never think it will happen to you. I’m just so proud she made it, she’s just so strong.”

Miss Bean, who volunteers at the Jimmy Centre in Chalkwell Road, Sittingbourne, which helps children with behavioural conditions and their families, said despite the trauma Lilly-May’s four-year-old sister took the episode in her stride.

“Scarlet was just so brave, we thought she would have been scared, seeing her sister with tubes everywhere, but she just was brilliant, it was so emotional to see her like that,” she said.

Following their traumatic experience the 20-year-old and Lilly-May’s father Jordan Butler are doing all they can to give something back to the hospitals that helped save their daughter, who has made a complete recovery.

“The staff in the hospital were brilliant looked after us and her so well.

“I want to give something back for such a brilliant job they have done. They saved my daughter’s life and I can’t even begin to thank them enough.”

The Bristol Close residents are fundraising for the Thomas Cook ward and Ronald McDonald House, a charity helping families away from home with children in hospital.

Aiming to raise more than £2,500, they are planning a boot fair in the near future, and people can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/2h39cq6k