THE Butler family still have a cabinet full of drink, a fridge full of food, and Christmas toys that have remained almost untouched.

It was the Christmas they never had since the family of four fell ill with the flu over the holiday period.

"This place was like the house of death over Christmas," said Brendan Butler, director of the Small Firms' Association. "We either had doctors here or we were at the surgery. In the past 18 years I have missed two days' work through illness but this thing just knocked me out. Christmas just didn't happen. We also missed New Year's Eve."

The flu hit the Butler household the day before Christmas Eve. Five year old Mairead was the first victim with a high temperature and vomiting. "She surfaced for just one hour on Christmas Day which is pretty serious for a five year old. On St Stephen's Day we went to the doctor and he didn't give a prescription, just recommended rest."

On the Wednesday after Christmas three year old Aoife's temperature suddenly rose and she had a convulsion. She was rushed to Harcourt Street Children's Hospital in Dublin and kept overnight. Doctors prescribed pain relievers and plenty of fluids. "Obviously we got a serious fright but they were great at the hospital. Luckily it was just a once off thing related to the high temperature."

The following day the virus hit Brendan. "At lunchtime I just died. I had the shakes. I was burning up. My skin was sore to touch. My head was spinning and I just wanted to be totally on my own. The doctor came and he told me to take paracetamol every three to four hours as well as hot drinks. I didn't surface again until Monday.

During all this time his wife Mary was looking after three patients in the house while she suffered from a less severe form of the flu. "She wasn't quite as bad but she did feel fairly rotten and had the sweats and that."