Maisie's Measles

by Shelley White
^{(creative writers at http://www.morewriting.co.uk)}

Rachel and her son, Jack, waited outside the nursery as usual for Lisa and her daughter, Maisie, to arrive. Rachel and Lisa were close friends, as well as being sisters, and Rachel often sensed if there was something bothering her sister. This morning, she had a bad feeling.

‘Mummy, where's Maisie?' asked Jack.

‘I don't know, darling, but I'm sure she'll be along soon.'

‘Can I go inside and play, Mummy?'

Rachel took Jack into the cloakroom and waited while he hung his coat on his peg. After a quick goodbye and peck on the cheek for Rachel, he ran to play with his friends. Rachel walked back out onto the street. She looked around for Lisa and Maisie but they were nowhere to be seen. She decided to take a detour past Lisa's house on the way home.

Rachel rang the doorbell. Lisa took her time answering.

‘Hi, Lisa. You all right? We've been waiting for you outside the nursery.'

‘Hi, Rachel, sorry about that. Come in.'

‘You look worried. Is everything OK?'

‘It's Maisie. She's got a temperature. Her eyes are sore and her nose is runny. I think she's coming down with something.'

‘Don't panic, Lisa. Let's have a look at her.'

Lisa took Rachel upstairs to Maisie's bedroom. Maisie was still in her pyjamas, clutching her teddy. With her blonde fringe stuck to her sweaty forehead, she looked sorry for herself.

‘Hello, Maisie. What's the matter, sweetheart?' asked Rachel, giving teddy's tummy a tickle.

‘I don't feel well,' sniffled Maisie. ‘Mummy made me an egg and some soldiers for breakfast but I'm not hungry.'

‘You poor thing.'

‘Yes and I'm tired. And I've got some pains in my tummy.'

‘Have you?'

‘Yes. And my ear hurts.'

‘Poor Maisie. Even teddy looks sad.'

‘What do you think it is, Rachel?' said Lisa. ‘You've got three kids, so you must have seen this sort of thing before.'

‘Look, I'm no expert but I think you should check to see if she's got a rash anywhere. It could be all sorts of things - or just a cold or something.'

Lisa lifted Maisie's chin. A red, blotchy rash circled her neck and spread onto her chest. ‘What do you think that rash is, Rachel?'

‘It could be measles. You'd better take her to the doctor's because measles sometimes can make a child very poorly.'

‘Measles?' Lisa looked sheepish.

‘Yes. But try not to worry. Hopefully, she should get over it in a week or so. What's bothering you, Lisa?'

‘It's my fault.'

‘What do you mean, your fault?'

‘Well, I decided I didn't want her to have the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccinations because of that scare a few years ago. I was frightened, you see, that she'd have a bad reaction.'

‘I wasn't sure either but I had my kids immunised - first when they were about 13 months, then about three years later. Thank goodness they haven't had any problems.'

‘Rachel, you always do the right thing. More often than not, I get things wrong.'

‘Lisa, you can't blame yourself. You don't know whether it is measles yet. And there's no 100 per cent guarantee that the immunisation would have stopped her catching it, anyway. You need to phone the surgery.'

‘All right, I will. But would you mind coming with us to the doctor's, please Rachel?'

‘Course I will. That's what sisters are for.'

‘See those little white spots in Maisie's mouth, Lisa?' said Dr Walsh after checking Maisie over.

‘Yes. What are they?'

‘They're called Koplik's spots and as they appear in 60-70% of measles cases before the onstart of the rash, they're a good indication that the patient has measles.'

‘So it's measles, then?'

‘I'm afraid so. She'll be pretty miserable for three to five days, then the fever should ease and the rash will fade. The other symptoms gradually ease and go. She should be better within seven to ten days.'

‘What about the earache?' asked Lisa. ‘She keeps complaining and clutching her ear.'

‘Ear infection's a common complication of measles, along with infections of the airways such as bronchitis and croup. In about one in two hundred cases, a febrile convulsion occurs - by that I mean a mild fit.'

‘A fit?' Lisa's eyebrows rose.

‘Don't be alarmed,' soothed Dr Walsh, picking up on Lisa's anxiety. ‘Full recovery's usual.'

‘Oh, I see. But, her earache . . .'

‘In this case, I'll prescribe antibiotics. They won't kill the measles virus but they'll zap any bacteria that's lurking.'

Rachel sensed that her sister was starting to relax and gave her an encouraging smile. ‘Ask Dr Walsh if there's anything else you can do for Maisie,' she whispered.

Dr Walsh appeared to have pre-empted any questions: ‘You may find that paracetamol liquid such as Calpol or Disprol will ease the fever and aches and pains. Oh, and you must make sure she drinks plenty of fluids.'

‘That's going to be difficult.' Lisa looked glum. ‘She hardly drinks anything at the best of times. How am I going to get round that?'

‘She likes ice lollies, doesn't she?'

‘She loves ice lollies.'

Maisie's eyes brightened. ‘And teddy loves ice lollies, as well.'

‘Good,' said Doctor Walsh. ‘They're a useful way of giving extra fluid and keeping cool. They'll stop her getting dehydrated.'

‘When will she be fit enough to go back to nursery?' asked Lisa.

‘I'm afraid she'll have to stay at home for at least a week, till she starts feeling better,' said Doctor Walsh patting teddy's head.

‘But why can't I go back to nursery tomorrow?' asked a tearful Maisie.

‘It's because measles is infectious,' said Dr Walsh.

‘Infectious? What does that mean?'

Doctor Walsh was patient and did her best to explain to the four year old. ‘It means that when you cough and sneeze, you're sending out lots of measles germs into the air around you. Other people breathing in those germs might catch measles. I'm sure you don't want your friends to be poorly, too, do you?'

‘No I don't. Will teddy catch measles?'

‘Teddy will be fine,' said Doctor Walsh, giving the sisters a wink, ‘I promise.'


Rachel popped back in the next day to see Lisa and Maisie.

‘How's Maisie now?'

‘I'm afraid she's worse than yesterday,' said Lisa, looking drawn and tired. ‘She hardly slept last night and neither have I because I was trying to soothe her in the early hours with cold drinks. She didn't even want me to tell her a story about 'Horrid Henry' and you know how she loves ‘Horrid Henry' stories.'

‘Yes, she must be feeling rotten then. Poor little mite.'

‘Come and say hello, Rachel. It might cheer her up a bit.'

‘All right. I've got something she'll like in here,' said Rachel, letting Lisa peek inside her shopping bag.

‘Maisie, there's someone to see you and she's got you a lovely surprise.'

Rachel followed Lisa into the Maisie's bedroom. Her hair stuck out in all directions and her eyes were half-closed and dull.

‘Hello, flower. How's my favourite niece, today?' Rachel pulled a juicy, orange ice lolly out of her bag and offered it to Maisie.

‘Don't want that,' Maisie whispered and turned over to face the wall. ‘Neither does teddy.'

‘Not even teddy?'

‘No, he's got an icky tummy. His head hurts.'

‘All right, then. I'll put the lolly in the freezer for another day, shall I?'

‘Yes. Teddy says he wants to go to sleep. Night-night.' Maisie closed her eyes and clutched her teddy to her chest.

Rachel and Lisa went downstairs and put the coffee pot on.

‘I need caffeine to keep me awake,' said Lisa, rubbing her eyes underneath her spectacles. ‘I hope we get some sleep tonight.'

‘Don't bank on it, Lisa. She'll probably be miserable for a few more days yet before she starts improving. Just keep doing what Dr Walsh advised and keep a close watch on her for signs of anything more serious.'

‘I will,' said Lisa, taking a sip of coffee. ‘This coffee's waking me up.' Lisa yawned.

‘It doesn't look like it, Lisa.' The sisters laughed. ‘Lisa, if you want to go for a nap, I'll keep an eye on Maisie for you.'

‘Thanks, sis. You never know, I might have to take you up on that.'


After a couple more days of feeling quite unwell and down in the dumps, Maisie seemed to be over the worst and getting back some of her mischievous charm. She was sleeping better and so was Lisa. Lisa had tired herself out looking after Maisie day and night but was starting to get more rest now that Maisie was on the mend. She was relieved that Maisie's earache had cleared and there didn't appear to be any more complications.

‘Mummy, I'm thirsty and teddy wants a drink, too.'

‘I know what you two would like,' said Lisa, remembering the lolly in the freezer. ‘I'll be back in a minute.'

She returned with the lolly and handed it to Maisie. ‘How do you feel now, Maisie?'

‘Ooh, lots better, now,' said Maisie, her eyes widening as she tore off the wrapper and gave teddy a bite.

‘Will you read me a story, please?'

‘Which one?'

‘You know, ‘Horrid Henry', of course.'