THIS time 12 months ago, La Vonne Palmer was blissfully unaware of the nightmare ordeal about to be thrust upon her Mackay family.

It started the morning of Tuesday, October 4 when then 15-month-old Eli started screaming and crying.

Attributing her son's emotional behaviour to teething, La Vonne continued the day as normal and bundled the youngster into the car to drop his older sister Graci, then 3, to day care.

But by the time La Vonne and Eli had returned back home, his temperature was 39.6 degrees. La Vonne didn't know it but , a deadly disease was spreading through Eli's body -- and fast.

"I gave him Panadol and his temperature came down to 38. Two hours later I gave him Nurofen but his temperature didn't change. He fell asleep and seemed to be okay but when he woke up, he vomited everywhere so I took him into the shower,” La Vonne said.

View the incredible photos of Eli's battle here:

That's when the mum-of-four noticed two, purple spots, about the size of a Nikko tip on Eli's body -- it was a tell tale sign of the trouble to come.

"He had one under his arm and one closer to his pants line as well as a blanched rash. I thought they were strange as they were so far apart so I sent a photo to my partner and my mum and they both told me to get to the hospital straight away,” La Vonne said.

"By the time I got to the hospital, Eli didn't want to move, he was all stiff and they went to move his neck and he vomited everywhere. That's when they said 'we need to get him on this now' and started pumping him with antibiotics.”

As the purple rash spread over Eli's small body in front of La Vonne's eyes, every parent's worst fear was confirmed -- it was Meningococcal Meningitis.

Fast forward 12 hours and Eli was being airlifted to Townsville Hospital where he was immediately rushed to the Intensive Care Unit and put into an induced coma.

La Vonne, her partner Frank Fapani and daughters Graci, Ellen and Emmily were told to 'prepare for the worst' and that once the rash takes hold, people have died within half an hour.

But little Eli was a fighter and was determined to beat the odds. He went to hell and back but lived to tell the tale. After spending a month in Townsville Hospital he returned home to Mackay where he has improved in leaps and bounds since.

Nearly a year on from his brush with death, Eli is astounding doctors and has earned the title of 'miracle child'.

"We were told he would have to learn to sit up, roll over, crawl, climb, walk, run and talk again and that it would take more than a year for him to achieve that,” La Vonne said.

"But he started sitting up and rolling over when he was in hospital, a few days before we came home. After about two weeks at home, he started to crawl again and then he was pulling himself up. He just wanted to go. He would cry and cry because he wanted to move but he couldn't.

"Within six weeks, he was walking again and has been back to normal ever since. I think his sister Gracie helping him get up and moving, she wanted him to play with her and would just run around him. He just wants to play and be a kid.”

While little Eli is in the clear, he is still facing a few challenges as the aftermath of his Meningococcal battle rears its head every now and then.

Just a few weeks ago, he was rushed to hospital with hypoglycemia which doctors say could be a result of the disease's impact on his body. Due to losing muscle strength in his legs and stomach, Eli is also pigeon toed and like sister Graci, he has also been diagnosed with non-verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Despite having a long road ahead of him, La Vonne says as long as Eli is healthy and happy, that's all that matters.

She wanted to thank the hospital staff both in Mackay and Townsville and in particular, the Mackay doctor who made the decision to start antibiotic treatment when Eli first presented as without it, he probably wouldn't be here today.