How sick is too sick? When do you know it's right to see the doctor?

You know, at this age I should be able to answer that question. But I can't. The Girl got really sick this week, well actually last week she came down with a cold. It was a head cold sort of thing. I got her various kinds of OTC medications, tissues, soup and compassion. She just didn't get better and slowly got worse. And then she got really worse! I believe she developed a sinus infection. She lost her voice, coughed her head off, ran a fever and used a box of tissues. She had a horrible headache. Life got very scary when she passed out in the kitchen while re-heating the rice bag in the microwave at 3 AM. I think she was coughing too much, not drinking enough, not eating enough and taking medications constantly so that her potassium and sodium was too low and her blood pressure was too low that her feverish body gave up.

The next day the vaporizer came out of the closet and BAM! The healing was on! I have to say, growing up with a vaporizer probably saved my life. I had a hard time with asthma and colds and the vaporizer my mom had was a old glass one that never had to be replaced year after year, like mine does. After the first night, the Girl was sounding better, by the second day she was producing a better cough and her eyes were looking better and today she actually got out of the house and into the sunshine. Kind of strange to have sun and 70's in January, but we'll take it. The house needs to dry out (the vaporizer makes things pretty damp and I don't want mold).

Also, during the "walking sickness" the Girl was able to get her classes scheduled. She got all the ones she wanted YAY! This  will be her first full semester at State. It's hard to believe she's accomplished all this. What a change this is from 3 years ago, when there was a different plan. I like what she's done, and who she's becoming. This has been a bumpy road, at times. Probably some more bumps ahead. We will all get through this.

Stick Dog is being a total trasher. He has enjoyed having the Girl home during the break. He likes attention, and can be quite annoying with his Clifford toy or even just a stick. It's turning into shed season, and Girl has been using the furminator on Stick Dog and you can almost make a pillow out of the hair that comes out. I would have thought it was a bit early in the season for this, but whatever. I just don't want to wear his hair to work. I have to brush off before I leave and then use the roller at work. If I forget, I just blame it on a tenant's dog.

So the end of all this is, I still don't know when to go to the doctor. The commercials tell us to call the doctor, when we get there, nothing can be done because it's viral. What a waste of time and co-pay, not to mention when you get sick you just don't feel like getting dressed to go to the doctor's office. So we dodged a bullet this time. Hope for the best for next time, or at least some wisdom.