JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - After 12-year-old Madi Allen nearly died from the flu, her and her family have made it their mission to campaign for people to get their flu shot.

It was February 2011, Shelle Allen recalled. Madi had just finished basketball season and was moving into travel soccer. She noticed her daughter not feeling well one weekend and decided to give her over-the-counter medicine to help.

However, there was no change and Madi became very ill come that Monday morning.

"It really went the other direction," Allen said.

Madi was taken to a local hospital where she was put on oxygen and was diagnosed with double pneumonia. It was only four hours later when doctors made the decision to transfer her to a Springfield hospital. Madi's mother said at that point, her daughter was in respiratory distress and she was intubated. At that point, doctors didn't know it was the flu.

However, it didn't take long for doctors to figure out it was Influenza B and MRSA Pneumonia. She was placed on life support.

"At that point her body was doing no work for itself," said Allen. "I was being told more times that my daughter was going to pass than live."

Madi, now 23, said she didn't remember much from that. The only thing she could recall was feeling very uncomfortable.

"She (mom) was holding me and I still wasn't comfortable," Madi said. 

The 12-year-old spent 93 days in the hospital and, once released, she had to re-learn how to write her name, walk and dribble a basketball. Madi recalled seeing videos from her friends back at school playing sports and hanging out. It gave her the motivation to get better.

Eventually, Madi gained her strength and went back to playing basketball and soccer. She told WAND News she played soccer in college. However, she still has complications. The 23-year-old deals with asthma and lung disease. She said earlier this year she had to have part of her lung removed because the damage was so bad and it was causing infections.

"I just don't want anybody to go through what we went through," Madi said, as she and he mom urged people to get the flu shot.

Both Madi and Shelle share their story through Families Fighting Flu. It's a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting children, families, and communities against the flu. Families like the Allen family share their story to urge people to get the flu vaccine.

"Just remember 1% of protection is better than nothing. I know it's difficult decision whether to get the flu vaccine or whether not to," said Allen. "Do the research, build those relationships with your health care providers. and, if nothing else, reach out to the organizations like ours."

The Allen family said the support from their family, friends and community during Madi's stay in the hospital and those weeks following was amazing. They want to again thank everyone for helping.