Harvey Phillips had to undergo a series of live-saving amputations at Sheffield Children's Hospital after doctors diagnosed the deadly meningococcal meningitis.
They told his parents Darren and Lisa it was the worst case of the illness they had seen in 15 years and that Harvey was lucky to be alive.
The family was in Sheffield visiting relatives when Harvey fell ill with a raised temperature, which his parents attributed to his teething. The next morning his lips had turned blue, his eyes were colourless and he was lifeless.
An ambulance took the baby from his aunt Claire's house in Morgan Avenue, Parson Cross, to the children's hospital, where doctors diagnosed meningitis – inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord which can kill in a matter of hours.
Harvey's condition quickly deteriorated and he suffered multiple organ failure. His parents were so concerned he was christened in hospital.
Surgeons decided to remove his infected limbs to stop the disease spreading, amputating both his legs above the knee, his right hand and forearm and the fingers and thumb on his left hand.
His mother, who moved from Sheffield to Louth in Lincolnshire five years ago, said: "I was up with Harvey on the Thursday night – he had a temperature but I put it down to teething.
"Then he didn't wake up for his bottle in the morning.
"It was about 7am on Friday when I went up to him. I turned him round and his lips were blue, his eyes were colourless and he was lifeless."
She believed he had chicken pox and her sister Kerry called an ambulance. At the hospital Harvey was given oxygen, and a nurse told Mrs Phillips her son had suspected meningitis.
She said: "I went to pieces. Within an hour the rash on Harvey was unbelievable – there were purple bruises all over him."
After surgery and weeks in intensive care Harvey has been moved to a normal ward.
His condition is described as "poorly" but he is understood to be making progress.
"The doctors are happy with his progress. He is still very poorly but is out of intensive care," said Mrs Phillips, who also has a daughter, Kayla.
"He smiled and has started to eat a little and it made me cry to hear him say 'Daddy'– for the first time.
"In a way we were lucky. If Harvey had been at home in Louth when he fell ill he would have had to be sent to Sheffield for treatment and by the time he had arrived it could have been too late."
She added: "The staff at the Children's have been brilliant."