First Aid Preparedness

Most of you, my dear readers, are probably a lot like me.  You loved your high school French classes.  You were seduced by the magic of the French language rolling off the tongue.  And then you were further seduced by the cutting edge fashion, the world-class wine, the irresistible member of the opposite sex, the unmatched gastronomy, or a combination thereof.  You can conjugate verbs as if your life depended on...especially that pesky subjunctive.  You most likely smile politely as the French compliment you on your *amazing* French skills, before going into your history as a practicing Francophile.  Ah, the French life.  You're doing it right.

And then you hit a brick wall that's called getting sick.