A mum has shared a devastating warning after what started as a small red blotch on her son turned out to be meningitis.
Zoe Walne, 37, was told her 17-month-old boy Teddy may now lose his toes and fingertips after he was rushed to hospital last month.
Thankfully able to save her son's life due to her quick-thinking actions, Zoe said that the terrifying ordeal had begun with just a small mark on Teddy's forehead.
However, the family had grown concerned after the blotches quickly began to spread and become darker, with her usually "mischievous" son taking a turn for the worse.
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Initially finding the first mark on Easter Sunday, Zoe had left Teddy at home with his dad, Duncan, 39, for a quick walk, but had returned to the condition worsening.
Phoning 111, Zoe told the Mirror that she was advised to keep an eye on it and wait for a follow-up call two hours later, but within minutes the blotches had begun to turn purple, more like "bruises".
Zoe, from Lancashire, said: "When he woke up he had a bit of an unusual rash, but it went downhill fast from there.
"As I was getting him dressed I noticed the tiniest little pink mark on his forehead and thought it was strange.
"I thought 'I'll ask my mum what she thinks it is', but by the time I got to my mum's he had the same little marking on his stomach.
"I said 'I'm just going to ring 111 because I'm not sure what they are'.
"The woman on the phone told me to keep an eye on them and said that she would get a doctor to ring me back in two hours.
"But within about 45 minutes the one near his neck looked like a bit of a bruise so I thought 'I'm not waiting'.
"I rang back up and described it again and she said I'm going to ring you an ambulance."
Within minutes paramedics arrived and told Zoe they suspected Teddie had meningitis.
Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges) and can cause life-threatening poisoning of the blood known as septicaemia.
Paramedics gave him antibiotics and rushed Teddie to Blackburn Hospital, by which point Teddie's rash had got even darker.
Zoe said: "It was a blur. When we got to the hospital the doctor said that is text book meningitis rash.
"They were all rushing around him doing things and they told me to call Duncan and I was starting to get scared.
"They said it was going to be really unpleasant because they didn't have time to wait for the pain relief to kick in and they needed to drill into his shin bones.
"He was starting to bleed from his mouth and his nose, it was just terrifying."
Teddie was sent to Manchester Children's Hospital by emergency transfer, where he was rushed Intensive Care and put into an induced coma.
He stayed on life support and was administered a paralysis medicine while doctors placed him into a freezer jacket to try and cool his skyrocketing temperature.
After seven days, Teddie started showing signs of being able to breathe on his own and continued to get stronger with medication to fight the infection.
But doctors are now running tests to see if any brain functions have been affected while parts of his body were starved of proper oxygen and blood supply.
Teddie is also being cared for by a plastic surgery team who are trying to heal the huge blisters that have developed where the rash was.
Medics have already confirmed that the septicaemia infection has claimed five fingertips and five toes, meaning he will need more operations on his life-changing injuries.
Zoe's brother Nathan has launched a GoFundMe page to support the family who relies on Duncan's income as a self-employed gardener, but has now been unable to leave their youngest son's bedside.
For now though, the couple say they are just grateful he is alive, and urged other parents to listen to their gut.
Zoe said: "I don't think I have ever prayed as much in my life to be honest
"It's the most terrifying thing I think I have ever been through.
"He has been such a fighter through it all. I keep thanking my lucky stars that he's here.
"The doctors said to me 'you need to realise you saved his life, because if you had waited for the doctor to ring you back Teddie wouldn't be here now'.
"They said it could have been caused by someone kissing him, coughing near him, it could have been absolutely anything.
"They just can't tell you and that's the scariest thing.
"He was running around on the Friday and Saturday the same mischievous little boy eating chocolate.
"You wouldn't have known anything was wrong if you'd waited because that's the advice you've been given by 111 but you've got to follow your gut, you know your child and if you don't think you can wait, don't wait.
"It was a matter of life and death for Teddie."
"It was a matter of life and death for Teddie."
