What’s Inside My Body: White Blood Cells

It was nearly Spring, and slowly but surely the branches on the trees began to reveal buds that would soon grow into fragrant flowers or bright green leaves. Charlotte and her mother were out on a stroll. The little girl was happily observing everything around her, not forgetting to jump into every puddle with both feet.

Charlotte and her mum zigzagged through the entire park before heading back home. It was then that her mother noticed Charlotte’s eyes — they were glassy and red, and her enthusiasm and energy had completely dwindled.

Once they were home, Charlotte took off her jacket and washed her hands, announcing: “I’m a bit tired, my head hurts. I’m going to lie down for a while.”

Feeling concerned, her mum patted her on the shoulder. She noticed that Charlotte felt hot. As she was crawling into bed, her mum came into her room, thermometer in hand.

“Oh my darling, you have a fever. According to the thermometer, it’s over 39 degrees. I’ll get you some medicine and then you can take a nice long nap.”

Charlotte had a restless sleep, and when she woke up, her stomach felt itchy. At first she wanted to scratch it, but when she touched her tummy she discovered lots of tiny pimples. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her belly, legs, and arms were covered in the same small red pimples. And they itched really badly.

By this time, her mother had come in. “Charlotte, you have some sort of rash, we’ll have to go and see the doctor.“ She phoned the clinic to arrange an appointment. That way Charlotte wouldn’t infect others by sitting in the waiting room. Then they headed out.

The doctor was very nice, she looked…