AN 11-year-old boy from Littleport has made a miraculous recovery after suffering a severe allergic reaction to painkillers that left him with burns to 65 per cent of his body and fighting for his life in an intensive care unit.

Calvin Lock reacted so severely to the over-the-counter medicine that he was on a life support machine for three days and had to be rushed to a specialist burns hospital in Essex.

Calvin’s nightmare began on September 26 when he was given regular Ibuprofen to tackle a viral infection.

He woke up the next morning with a rash on his face and a slight swelling to his ear.

Doctors mistakenly thought he was suffering with chickenpox and gave him more antibiotics which, the following day, had caused the swelling and rashes to spread across his body.

Calvin’s parents Robyn Moult and Daryn Chambers was told by NHS Direct that he was having an allergic reaction and that he should be taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge urgently.

Doctors at the hospital also mistook his symptoms for chickenpox and sent him home with yet more antibiotics, which left him unable to walk, talk or see by the following morning.

Unable to breathe, he was rushed back to Addenbrooke’s where, after much deliberation, doctors eventually established that he had Stevens Johnson Syndrome and moved him to intensive care.

He was put on a drip and work started on treating more than 200 blisters that had appeared on his body.

Over the coming days his condition continued to deteriorate and the decision was made to put him on a life support machine and transfer him to a specialist burns unit at the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex.

Calvin’s family were told his condition was critical and that his chances of survival were slim.

Doctors in Essex removed 65 per cent of his skin and his hair and fingernails also fell out. Two operations were carried out to treat the Ely College pupil and, after two nerve-shredding days, he was finally able to breathe by himself.

After a week at the hospital he was allowed to eat by himself again, his feeding tube removed. His condition was improving daily and, by October 19, he was allowed home for the first time in almost a month.

Now, learning to walk again and his hair and nails starting to regrow, Calvin’s parents are hoping to raise awareness of Stevens Johnson Syndrome and held a fundraising evening at Littleport Leisure Centre.

Calvin enjoys football, karate and angling and his football club, Littleport Under 12s also held a fundraising event in his honour.

Mum Robyn said: “We are hoping to raise some money and raise awareness of this condition, which is not as rare as what people like to believe.”