NyQuil, the only alcohol I can legally drink

Yesterday, right as I was getting ready to leave the anatomy lab after a hardcore round of studying with some brilliant fellow classmates, I realized something- I was sick.

Now, I had been trying to deny this for the past couple of days. I don't get sick. I shouldn't get sick. But driving back to my parents house in Bountiful, I could not deny the fact that I was insanely tired, couldn't focus, was running a fever, had a wicked headache, stuffy nose, and lots of other symptoms that will not be described in detail out of courtesy to all those reading.

I am sick the same week I have five tests in medical school. The irony of this is not lost on me.

I mean seriously. Seriously?

But besides my annoyance at being in my present situation, I also thought about how illness (and yes, I know, a cold is not exactly a major illness) reminds us of our vulnerability, whether it be a cold, or the flu, or even something as random as dengue fever. And although I think we all think about illness in relation to helping other people, have any of us given serious thought to how illness might affect ourselves?

I wonder how being a physician will affect my decisions about my health, or that of my family. Will it greatly benefit me to have the specialized knowledge about exactly what's going on in my body? Or will it only serve to frustrate me? How will it complicate decisions made about kids or loved ones?

Anyways, after finally getting home without being pulled over (which was definitely a feat as I was pretty off), I tried to study for a couple hours. But then I gave up and took NyQuil. Now, it's been awhile since I last took NyQuil and I realized a couple new things.

1) Still tastes as bad as it did when I was four.

2) It's 10% alcohol, which makes it 20 proof.

So apparently, while I cannot be served alcohol in a public establishment for another five years, there is no problem with NyQuil. Granted, I would have to drink the entire bottle to feel the effects, and quite frankly, it's not worth it. If only they could make it taste better somehow...