Girl, 10 months, could lose all her limbs and be left 90% brain damaged after contracting Meningitis C - after the illness became so rare in babies that the NHS scrapped vaccinations before first birthday in 2016

The devastated parents of a tot struck by a deadly infection have been told the ten-month-old will lose both her arms and legs, her sight and hearing and will be 90 per cent brain damaged.

Villagers in Wyke are rallying round Kia Gott’s family and have so far raised more than £7,000 on a Crowdfunding page.

Kia’s mum Vikki, 30, has not left her baby daughter’s side since she was rushed into intensive care in Leeds four weeks ago with meningococcal septicemia.

Despite doctors’ shocking prognosis, Kia’s parents are clinging on to hope she can still hear and see them and her older brother Kayden, eight, and sister Elsie, who is four.

She is now off a ventilator and, although still sedated, she is breathing for herself.

Specialists at Leeds General Infirmary have told the family that Kia’s is the worst case of Meningitis C septicaemia they have dealt with for 25 years.

Kia has already had her right arm removed and is due to have one of her legs amputated on Monday, said Mr Gott’s aunt Donna Gott, who was speaking on behalf of the family.

She said the family wanted to thank the local community and online well-wishers for their support but were also desperate to warn other parents to look out for meningitis and septicemia symptoms.

Two days before Kia fell ill, she had been at her older siblings’ school at Shirley Manor Primary Academy for a family photo. “It’s a beautiful photo. She was absolutely fine,” said Mrs Gott.

Later that week, Kia’s mum took her to the GP , worried that she “was not herself.”

The tot had a temperature of 38.5C, she had been jerking in her sleep and was lethargic when awake. She had also noticed a couple of spots on her chest.

Hospital consultants have since told the family that the GP would not have been able to detect meningitis at that time.

When Kia’s dad Paul, 35, came home from work that night, Kia did not get excited to see him, which was unusual.

“They stayed up with her until midnight, then went to bed. At 2am the next morning Paul woke with a start, just instinct. He went to check on her, put on the light and saw her face, neck and chest was covered in the rash.

“He told me “I screamed, I knew what it was.”

Paramedics arrived fast but her veins had collapsed, so they had to drill into her tiny shin to give her emergency drugs. While that was happening, she had a mini cardiac arrest, said Mrs Gott. Kia was rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary where medics told her family it was meningitis and she was not likely to survive.

She was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary for specialist care, where the family were given the devastating news that all four limbs would have to be removed. An MRI scan also showed signs she would be deaf, blind and have 90 per cent brain damage, said Mrs Gott.

“Paul and Vikki are traumatised. They know she is in a bad way, but they can’t grasp she can’t hear or see them. They believe she is responding to them and their voices and when Elsie sings her nursery rhymes. She is yawning, moving her head and her arm. The hospital has said it’s the worst case of Meningitis C they have seen there in 25 years.

“Because she is on so many drugs at the moment, it’s hard to do the tests they need to find out for sure but they will keep monitoring her. An eye specialist has given some hope her eyes might still be healthy,” said Mrs Gott.

She added: “Vikki has not left the hospital. She is feeling an immense sense of guilt and is scared if she leaves the hospital something bad will happen. It’s heartbreaking. Paul is a self-employed window-fitter and is still having to work two days a week because bills still need paying. Kayden and Elsie are staying over at the hospital house with their mum at weekends. They are struggling too.” Kia also has older step-sisters from her dad’s side: Shona, who is 19, and Mckenzie who is 13.

The NHS stopped giving the MenC vaccine to 12-week-old babies in July last year because the success of the vaccination programme meant there were almost no cases of the disease in babies or young children in the UK. Instead, babies are offered a combined Hib infection and Meningitis C vaccine at their first birthday.

Charity Meningitis Now said, in 2015-2016, there was only one case of Meningitis C septicaemia recorded in children under the age of one. It is caused by bacteria that lives in the back of throats of one in ten people, normally doing no harm. However, if if it somehow gets into the blood system, it can trigger a potentially life-threatening infection.

Mrs Gott said: “They have a long hard road ahead of them. Paul and Vikki want to thank the people of Wyke, family and others who are supporting them and helping them out at this terrible time. They also want to thank Eckersley House Sick Children’s Trust, the BRI and the critical care transport Embrace team for getting them to Leeds.

A crowdfunding page at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/emma-simpson-2 has made more than £7,000 to help the family and a justgiving page at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/caredyanamics-yorkshireltd set up by Donna Gott has brought in more than £600 so far to make sure Kayden and Elsie will have a Christmas.

Today, footballers from Wyke played a charity match at Wyke Manor Playing Fields off Wyke Lane from 2pm to help Kia, followed by more fundraising at The Wyke Rose.