I come from a medical household: let me tell you how being sick in a place like this pans out.
1. me: "I am sick Mom."
2. Mom: " You should gargle....here, I have the tap running warm for you."
3. me: "grhllllghrllll.....spit."
4. me: "Dad, I feel like CRAP"
5. Dad: "You should gargle."
6. me: ("yeah, good idea", I'm thinking.....)
7.later in the evening me: "I think I should get some early sleep to get over this thing."
8. Mom: "I will get the throat wrap ready."
-now, you have to understand that my parents are very holistic in their medicinal approach -
*the throat wrap is: A. wrapping Raleigh's (or an old-fashioned version of Vick's) all over your WHOLE upper area...and I mean WHOLE area B. a hankerchief (does anyone really say that word properly? anyways...) from Dad's drawer - you run it under hot water to get it warm and WET....wrapped on top of the non-Vicks, an old wool sock safety-pinned on top of that and then putting you to bed to die from a safety-pin prick that drains all the blood from your body whilst sleeping!
9. I awake....feel sicker - like I'd been swimming all night long and am water-logged. Oh wait...I really am wet all OVER....from the Throat Wrap (proven to work in medical circles claims my Mother - yeah, ones from the CO-OP I'm thinking!!)
10. Take more echinacia and whatever else herbal medicine I found on the sale rack at the Health Food Store!
11. Days go by.......; ok, maybe one or three.
12. Dad wakes me up...me:" I feel sicker....."
13. Dad: "maybe you should call the Doctor's."
14. ........me: "huh?"