IT is an illness that is common among children and rarely features anything worse than an uncomfortable, itchy rash and high temperature.

But a six-year-old girl almost died after a one-in-million chance bout of chickenpox turned into a flesh-eating bug.

Katie Groome was just five when she caught chickenpox, but within days it had caused blood poisoning, which in turn led to deadly necrotising fasciitis. 

In agony, she was put into a medically induced coma so doctors could treat her and underwent procedures normally used on burns victims, including having skin grafted from her upper thigh to help repair the damage.

However, the keen gymnast is now battling back to health and her relieved family are hoping to raise cash for hospital funds. 

Her mother, Kate said: “After Katie got chickenpox I noticed a swelling on her right shoulder. She had a really high temperature and was very lethargic. 

“What happened to my daughter was extremely rare, but thanks to the quick wits and expertise of the medical staff she is still with us.

“The NHS come in for a lot of criticism, but in this case they did everything absolutely right.

“The staff did a phenomenal job and saved Katie’s life.”

Katie developed chickenpox last December, but her parents became concerned when her condition rapidly deteriorated and she developed swelling on her arm.

Her mother booked a telephone consultation, but she became more concerned because her daughter could no longer move her arm. She was in a lot of pain and her shoulder was getting redder.

The appointment was brought forward and, after a brief chat, her GP made a house call, then called an ambulance. A paramedic arrived first and sent out a code-red message.

On arrival at Wishaw General Hospital, staff struggled to insert a canula because the girl’s veins were collapsing.

She began to vomit and have diarrhoea and attempts were made to give her intravenous antibiotics, but they could not get the fluid in. 

Katie then began to go into renal failure and develop cardiac problems so doctors called for the specialist team at Glasgow’s new Royal Hospital for Children.

By then, Katie had started hallucinating and had to be taken to theatre to be placed in an induced coma before she could be transferred to the children’s hospital.

After being moved to intensive care, she developed septicaemia. then Katie noticed a small purple mark had appeared on her shoulder and told doctors.

The bubbly schoolgirl, who is a pupil at St Brendan’s Primary in Motherwell, is now bouncing back from her ordeal in December.

Ms Groome added: “She began to go into kidney failure and develop heart problems, so the doctors called for the specialist team from Glasgow. 

“In intensive care she developed septicaemia and I saw a small purple mark on her shoulder.

“That was when they realised it was necrotising fasciitis.

“They had to cut away the top of her arm, an area across her chest and a bit of her back.”

Her wounds were packed then a vacuum dressing, like those used for burns victims, was used for three weeks before the skin grafts were started.

Katie had to have skin grafted from her upper thigh to help repair the damage and will need further plastic surgery as she grows to stretch the skin.

She was in hospital for five weeks in total, undergoing 10 anaesthetics in that time.

Now Ms Groome, a staff nurse at Udston Hospital in Hamilton, father Thomas and older sisters Andrea and Anneliese are fundraising for NHS colleagues at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children.

They are now urging locals to support her fundraising drive by buying tickets for the event at Wishaw and District Ex-Servicemen’s Institute on 25 November.