In the Medical Clearance Chaos

Medical Clearance...very, very, extensive. I am currently in the process of trying to get through the medical clearance portion of the application process. I have gotten my dental forms all complete, I had my physical exam/medical history check, I had blood work done (4 vials! that's a lot of tests!), sent a letter to a therapist I saw once in college for him to fill out, more about that later, and plan on getting a Polio booster and TB test this Friday. Once that is done, I should have all that I need to send off my medical packet to the Peace Corps Office in DC. I'm hoping that I won't end up having too many costs, I know I'm already going to have to fork over about 80 bucks for the full mouth dental x-rays + a filling correction that took place at the dentist a few weeks ago. I don't foresee too many extra costs from the Doctor as my medical insurance should cover most of it. But who knows how much all of that blood work is going to set me back.

Now onto my first frustration with the Peace Corps application process. I had mentioned on my Health Status Review form initially that I had seen a therapist. They didn't ask anything about when I saw him, how many times, or the reasons why. I said yes because I felt I needed to be completely honest since I am applying for a Government position after all. However, in reality, I saw a Therapist for one hour, sophomore year of college, because my parents wanted me to go. They asked me to go because I had just come out to them and they wanted me to get an "unbiased" opinion. Seeing as I didn't necessarily seek out therapy, nor did I ever see the therapist again and am a mentally healthy, happy individual, I think that the circumstances around this should not require me to get this Therapist to fill out a full evaluation on me. It's not that big of a deal, it's just me being impatient and wanting to send everything right now! haha... So I shall have to wait for this therapist to send me back the evaluation form I had sent him. In fact, I should give him a call and check up on that process :)

In other news, I am still so excited to be nominated and am hoping above all hopes that if I get my medical packet in this weekend, maybe just maybe I can look to hear about an invitation before the Christmas season. That way I can ask for things that would be really useful i.e.- a headlamp, a sleeping bag, solar charger maybe?

That's all for now, back to work!!