A COURAGEOUS teen is looking forward to a special Christmas - a year to the day he was struck down with deadly meningitis.

Lewis Cunningham took seriously unwell on December 25 and was told by doctors he was lucky to live after nine gruelling days of treatment in hospital.

The illness was discovered while the 15-year-old Port Glasgow Juniors footballer was recovering from a pioneering knee operation to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Against all the odds, the determined teenager has beaten both to get back playing - and says he can’t wait to enjoy the Christmas dinner he missed out on last year.

He said: “On Christmas, last year I got up and I don’t remember opening my presents because I was so ill.

“I don’t remember anything really about the day so I’m looking forward to making up for it."

Lewis’s ordeal began last year when he snapped the tough band of tissue joining the thigh bone to the shin at the knee joint.

The injury was so severe that Lewis struggled to walk and was told by medics that unless he had major reconstructive surgery he would be left with a limp and would be unable to participate in sports.

Lewis underwent the pioneering operation and his knee was reconstructed using his hamstring tendon.

His mum Annette, 50, said: “He wasn’t allowed to kick a ball for nine months.”

Determined Lewis, a pupil at St Columbia’s High School in Gourock, was progressing well with his recovery until his health rapidly deteriorated just before Christmas.

Lewis said: “On 23 December we went up to Glasgow to see the lights.

“I didn’t feel great and on the train from Glasgow back home to Inverkip and I had to put my head on the table.

“The walk from the train station to our house is five minutes but it took me 20 minutes because I felt so weak and my family had to help me.

“Then on Christmas Eve everyone got a Dominos - but I turned it down because I didn’t feel well so I knew something wasn't right!”

As the family prepared to sit down for Christmas dinner, Lewis realised he was on the brink of collapse.

Annette said: “It was hellish.

“He was chalk white and just as we were getting our Christmas dinner, he was violently sick.”

The family waited a two-hour wait for an ambulance before Lewis was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Lewis said: "It felt like someone was hitting my head with a hammer."

Lewis, who did not present with a rash, underwent a series of tests including a CT scan before being diagnosed with life threatening bacterial meningitis, which can cause severe brain damage.

Annette said: "When they gave him a CT scan we knew things were pretty serious.

"My older son actually had meningitis when he was four and he recovered fine but I thought surely lightning couldn't strike twice."

Lewis was put on IV antibiotics and spent Christmas and New Year in hospital with his mum at his bedside.

Luckily he recovered and was finally sent home after anxious nine days.

In September he celebrated a milestone moment when he went back to football training, followed by his first outing at a game three weeks ago.

His parents Annette and Jamie say they are incredibly proud of him.

Jamie, 50, said: "I felt quite sad for him that he was out of football for such a long time but his recovery is testament to his determination and spirit."

Lewis says the support he received from Port Glasgow Juniors 2003s team manager Ian Sorrell, his wife Kirsty and coach David was been crucial in his recovery.

Lewis said: "They have been amazing."

Annette added: "Lewis said to me at one point, 'I think I might give up football'.

"So I spoke to Kirsty and she was really encouraging."

Kirsty said: "He's a great asset to our team - he never ever gives up."

Lewis is now looking forward to an extra special Christmas Day tomorrow with his parents and his sister Laura, 25, and his brother Martin, 23.

He said: "I can't wait."