Memories of croup

One of the most unpleasant memories I have of childhood is of having a bad case of the croup. I must have been pre-school age. I recall that I genuinely was concerned that I was going to die, and my mother had to reassure me that that was not going to happen. She made a vapor pan with Vicks Vaporub in the water and shaped a paper cone so that I could breathe the fumes. I hated it, but I am sure it helped.