*nods* I think that the way I use Mary Sue is narrow enough that I hadn't realized it's such a broad term. And yet, the way I apply it has been creeping slowly outwards for years. I think this whole thing was a very good wakeup call for me! Like I said in a comment above, I don't think it's a completely useless concept; it does describe something that people do, that there wasn't a word for. But I'm going to be very careful in applying it in the future.

(And I hope you're not going out of your mind with the bed rest thing! That's got to be hard to take. *hugs*)