Newbury mum issues warning after her daughter suffered a near-fatal one-in-a-million allergic reaction to her booster injections

Vikki Simpson, 35, said she didn't know parents are advised to remain in the GP surgery after taking their kids for injections.

But she found out why it was so important after daughter Leah, three, went limp in her arms, turned blue and stopped breathing properly following her MMR booster.

Thankfully mum-of-two Vikki was still in the GP surgery, and medics realised she was suffering from anaphylactic shock - a one in a million reaction.

In a race to save her life, they administered adrenaline, and Leah was saved.

Shaken Vikki said paramedics warned had she gone straight home she may not have noticed Leah was poorly in her car seat until it was too late.

Vikki is now speaking out to raise awareness of the importance of vaccinations, but also waiting around for a few minutes afterwards.

Vikki said: "I was holding her in my arms when I felt her go limp, and I thought maybe she wanted to be put down.

"I went to put her down on the floor when she looked up at me with such fear in her eyes and said 'Mummy' in this desperate voice that chilled me to the bone.

"I tried to pick her up again but her body was like a dead weight, her head dropped to the floor and she wasn't responding at all. It was terrifying.

"I still think it's important to vaccinate your children - it's still a good thing in my eyes.

"I just want other parents out there to be aware that this can happen, and to just take that extra bit of time to wait and make sure the coast is clear.

"15 minutes is such a short amount of time, and you can easily take that out of your day to wait a little bit, especially if it could mean saving your child's life."

Vikki said: "I'd been a bit nervous about taking Leah for her jabs anyway because I didn't want to make her cry, but there were no tears at all when they injected her.

"As she seemed fine, I thought there was no rush to get back to the car and went to book an appointment with the receptionist."

The receptionist grabbed a nurse, who scooped Leah up and raced her into a doctor's room, lying the little girl on a bed, while the doctor was summoned.

The room suddenly filled with people trying to help Leah as mum Vikki stood watching, frozen in shock.

She said: "I had no idea what to do but stand out of the way and let them help her.

"All of the colour drained from Leah's face, she was completely unresponsive and her eyes were rolling to the back of her head.

"It was devastating seeing her like that, and she wasn't reacting at all to my voice and I could see her lips were turning blue.

"Her blood pressure and oxygen levels had dropped, and the doctor realised it was now a state of emergency.

"The doctor turned to me, said he needed to give her adrenaline immediately and I watched in horror as he stabbed the epipen into her leg.

"There were a few seconds of silence that felt like forever, and then Leah suddenly seemed to wake up and start crying, which they told me was a good sign.

"I picked her up in my arms as she sobbed, trying to comfort her and that's when the doctor told me they thought that Leah had had a reaction to her jabs."

Doctors called for an ambulance.

An ananphylactic shock is an extreme allergic reaction to a foreign substance in the body, and can often be life-threatening.

Common causes can be food such as nuts, dairy, fish or eggs, and non-edible sources can be bee or wasp stings, latex, penicillin or other drugs and injections.

An ambulance took Leah to Basingstoke Hospital, and Vikki was told just how fatal her situation could have been.

Vikki said: "When we got into the ambulance, the paramedic told me that Leah's reaction could have been fatal if I hadn't still been in the surgery when she took a turn for the worse.

"We live 20 minutes from the doctors - if I'd just taken her straight to the car and strapped her in the back before driving home, I might not have noticed her turn ill.

"I have the back windows of my car blacked out so my children aren't blinded by the sun, so it's very possible I wouldn't have known she was poorly until we had got home, by which time it could have been too late.

"It was on a total whim that I decided to book my appointment with the receptionist after Leah's jabs - if she'd cried from the injections, I would have taken her straight to the car so we could go home where I could make it all better for her.

"If I hadn't made that appointment, I wouldn't have been in that surgery, and I dread to think what would have happened if I'd gone straight to the car."

Leah did not react to her first MMR jab in April 2017, but the manufacturers have changed.

"Leah will have more routine jabs when she is 13 years old, but it will be in a hospital environment to make sure she's safe," she said.

"The consultant told me that it was so rare for a child to have a reaction like that to the jabs.

"Apparently, you're meant to go and sit in the waiting room for 15 minutes after your child has been vaccinated in case something happens, but nobody had ever told me that.

"I've spoken to other mums since that terrifying day, and it sounds like some GP surgeries tell them to wait for 15 minutes and others don't."