The Medical Review

On June 9, Kris went in for her physical for the Peace Corps. It was just supposed to be a health status report. The inoculations come later.

Unfortunately, her doctor at Christie Clinic didn't seem to be able to read. Granted there were five form pages to fill out, but it only would have taken a couple minutes to read the instructions for the whole thing. How is it that doctors have made it through five years of the most mentally challenging kind of school there is, but yet at the end, they can't read directions or write legibly?

In any event, the doctor failed to sign the form, ordered the wrong lab tests, and lost the urine sample, so the next two weeks, Kris felt like a yo-yo, going back and forth to the clinic. She called the Peace Corps nurse in D.C. and discovered that the lab tests she had were fine, and didn't need to be re-done, so that was good.

My doctor visit on June 10 was a lot better. The doctor read the instructions, and ordered all the correct lab tests. However, they lost my urine sample as well, and gave me a tetanus shot, which the form specifically said not to do. Thankfully, they took two urine samples to be safe, so I didn't have to go back in. The hardest part was getting the lab results. The Hepatitis A, B, and C tests are only done once a week, on Thursday, so we had to wait for those.

The dental exams went off without a hitch. The only potential problem with those is that the exams were $100 each, due to the X-rays, but we only get reimbursed $60 from the Peace Corps, and our insurance only covers $800/year for both Kris and my vision and dental. Since Kris had to get new lenses and contacts, and I had to get a $200 occlusal guard to protect my teeth from grinding at night, it's going to be tight.

Speaking of insurance, it's a good thing we have such good insurance. All together, our physicals and lab tests cost a little less than $1,400, plus the cost of Kris' Ob. Gyn. exam! The Peace Corps only reimburses us about $300, which is a little ridiculous. Thankfully, our insurance covered every penny.

So now, all our medical paperwork is in and we are just waiting for the medical clearance to go through, which can take 4-6 weeks. Priority is given to applicants that are leaving sooner, though, so we should hear back in closer to 4 weeks.