IT is hard to believe little Abigail Kenna was less than half an hour from death just a few weeks ago.

The four-year-old was rushed to hospital with a bout of meningitis and only survived because of the speed at which doctors treated her.

Now the youngster from Tonge Moor is all smiles — and is looking forward to a happy Christmas with her family.

Her mum, 25-year-old Rebecca Kenna, said: “Doctors told me if we had arrived at hospital another 10 or 20 minutes later, things might have been very different.

“She has completely recovered now though and is back to normal. I feel so lucky.”

Abigail, a pupil at Tonge Moor Primary School, fell ill at 5am on October 30, being sick, her temperature was high and she had a rash.

When Abigail deteriorated further, Miss Kenna contacted a doctor, who advised her to ring an ambulance.

Abigail was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital but was discharged at 3.45pm, after a doctor said she was suffering from a viral cold and a reoccurrence of chicken pox, which she had had a few weeks earlier.

Miss Kenna took her daughter home, but by 7.30pm she had deteriorated dramatically, her rash had worsened and she was vomiting violently.

She called an ambulance and when paramedics arrived, Miss Kenna was told to prepare herself for the worst.

She said: “The ambulance staff told me it looked bad when they came to take her in.

“She was slipping in and out of consciousness at that point and when I saw her in hospital she was covered in drips, tubes and monitors.

“It was horrible and I was scared she wasn’t going to come home.”

Abigail was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia and was kept in the Royal Bolton Hospital for six nights.

She was eventually allowed home on November 5.

Now Miss Kenna wants other parents to find out more about meningitis.

She said: “At first I was angry that the doctors didn’t spot she was suffering from it when we first went to hospital, but the care she received was brilliant.

“I want to urge parents to find out as much as they can about it so they can spot the signs. It comes on quickly and the symptoms are like other things.

“I would also urge parents to tell the doctor if they are worried it is meningitis and insist on tests or an observation period.”

Abigail will now enjoy a family Christmas with her mother, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins.