I've probably used the phrase "very ill" when calling in sick. Actually, probably not "very ill" but rather "really sick." I'd say linguistically they're the same thing.
"Hi, it's B. I don't think I can come into work today. I'm really sick/very ill."
In retrospect, I could have gone to work.
Only today, after reading Palestinian Foreign Minister Saeb Erekat's comments on Yasser Arafat's condition, I understand that "very ill" means that my brain, heart and lungs were still functioning and that I was "very much alive."
