'I thought my life was over'

The 25-year-old had been struck down by the deadly C strain of meningitis and, for six weeks, she lay in a coma at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary. "It was touch and go. The doctors told my parents that I was probably going to die," she recalls.

Sitting in the kitchen of her Newcastle home with her three-year-old daughter, Izzie, and baby son, Harry, Kim seems like any other new mum - tired but contented. But when she stands up to lift Harry out of his pram, she walks a little stiffly and when I look closely at her feet, encased in a pair of pretty flip-flops, I realise that she has artificial legs.

In order to save her life, doctors had to amputate both of her legs at the knee.

Although she didn't realise it, Kim's age meant she was in a high risk group for meningitis. She's now backing a campaign to raise awareness of the infection and encourage young adults between the ages of 20 and 25 to get vaccinated against meningitis C. "I would hate anyone to go through what I did. I didn't really know about meningitis. As far as I was concerned, it was just something that affected babies and when I became ill, I thought I had flu. What happened to me shows just how quickly it can take hold and how serious it can be."

Kim can only remember fragments, like crawling to her neighbour's flat, but she has pieced together her experiences from what others told her. Between feeding Harry and showing Izzie how her water pistol works, she recalls what happened in a matter-of-fact way, totally devoid of self-pity.

"I know my neighbour Nigel called a doctor who gave me some penicillin. He did say it could have been meningitis but he wasn't sure and when Nigel asked whether he should stay with me, the doctor said he didn't need to and Nigel went out to work."

Back in her own bed, Kim drifted in and out of consciousness for the next few hours and when other neighbours called on her that evening, they thought she was asleep. It wasn't until the next morning that Nigel returned and raised the alarm.

"The doctor had told him to look out for a rash. He hadn't known what to expect but when he saw me that morning, he knew it was meningitis. My face was all dark and he actually woke me up to ask if I was wearing a face pack, which, of course, I wasn't."

The rash was a result of blood leaking out under the skin, a sign that septicaemia had set in, and Kim's face is still mottled with tiny scars.

"I remember the ambulance arriving and the paramedics getting out a stretcher and I thought I must be really ill if they needed a stretcher, but I still didn't think I had a life-threatening illness."

Kim was taken to the RVI where doctors discovered that her kidneys and lungs had failed and her heart was beating erratically. Her parents were summoned from their home in the Midlands and told to expect the worst. For the next few weeks, Kim remained unconscious.

"It was a really strange feeling. Although I was in a coma, I could still hear things and tried to make sense of them in my mind. I had these really strange dreams I thought were real, like my dad's friend was a pilot who had been shot down over the Gulf and had to have his legs amputated."

That particularly vivid dream was a combination of several things - a visit by her father's friend, news bulletins about the Gulf War on the television in the corner of her room and medical discussions about amputating her legs.

"It wasn't until a few days after I came round that they told me they were going to have to amputate my legs because of the septicaemia. By this time, I had seen them. They were black and the toes were pointing downwards. I knew I would never walk again but I didn't want to lose them. I didn't know at that stage that the gangrene would spread and eventually poison me.

"In the end I had to agree. It's fine to fight but there comes a point when you realise there is absolutely nothing you can do. After that I suddenly felt completely relaxed and just accepted it."

Following the operation, Kim spent several months in the rehabilitation unit for amputees at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. She is full of praise for the staff who helped her and for her family and friends who supported her through the ordeal.

After nine months in hospital, Kim was ready to go home. She couldn't manage the stairs in her own flat and she didn't want to go back to her parents' house.

"I knew that if I went back, I would never leave. I had to get my own place and be independent but it was hard. Sometimes, I just couldn't face it. I thought my life was over and I seriously thought about killing myself. In the end though, I couldn't do it because I knew it would break my parents' heart."

But things began to look up and within a year, she met her future husband, Don. The couple have been married for ten years and now have two children.

Kim was also determined to get her career back on track. Before she contracted meningitis, she had worked in marketing but was always particularly interested in the creative side. She studied at Newcastle College for an HND in advertising design and went from there to a job at Metro Radio. For the last three years, she has been a creative manager with Galaxy FM.

"There are things I find difficult but I think a lot of working mums find it difficult to juggle their family and their career. I do get tired easier than most people but I've just learned to cope with it. I've had to.

"But there is no need for anyone to go through what I did. Now is a good time, during the Easter holidays, for students and young people go and get vaccinated. It only takes a minute and it could save their lives."

* For more information about meningitis and vaccinations, contact the Meningitis Trust's 24-hour help line on 0845 6000800