Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Medical Clearance With a Bit of a Twist!

I decided to call the OMS to see if there was anything else I needed to turn in before Asia, and they pretty much told me to email the Pre-service unit in order to figure things out. I was trying to email them when I accidentally pressed send after only writing "Dear Pre-Service Unit" ...ugh embarrassing. Anyway, that email alone triggered an automatic response saying that the PSU would not be responding to emails until after August 15th. At this point I pretty much gave up on hearing from them for the next month because I'll be in Asia as of TOMORROW! :) But then.. I got a PC letter in the mail. I've been provisionally medically qualified. The reason my medical qualification is provisional is because I have slight reactive airway disease (aka baby-sized asthma) and an allergic reaction to bleu cheese. In my letter I was told that they are now looking for places that will be able to support my health issues. I'm really hoping that my original nomination holds, but it's PC so I know things can change very easily. I just don't understand why they can't send me there with an epi pen and an inhaler from the states and call it a go. Oh well, excited to jump into the placement stage and to go to Asia tomorrow! Also, provisional clearance is better than no clearance so at least I'm still in it!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Toolkit update without a toolkit!

Ok, Tuesday night I faxed everything in and received an email the very next morning confirming that they received my fax. On Thursday morning I got a Toolkit Status Update email telling me that my medical portion was once again under review. Yesterday was also the last day that the Toolkit was up and running so I thought it was kind of cool that they slipped an update in there for me the day the toolkit closed down. However, this morning I woke up to another update. I was so excited and confused so I clicked on the link as fast as I could just to find a note that read.."

Check Your Application Status

Our application process is changing to a more streamlined, secure, and electronic-based system.  As part of that change, MyToolkit is no longer active.
Applicants will be receiving information about next steps sometime after July 26th"

Of course..I get a status update without a status. I'm thinking it was either a mistake or (fingers crossed) medical clearance?! Haha, well..I have 5 more days until I leave for Asia. I hope I get an email or a letter explaining the update soon!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

This should be the week..

Ok..this should be the week when big PC things start to happen. I heard back from the OMS that I was missing 5 things for medical clearance:
1 and 2) 2 personal statements..1 saying I would agree not to wear contact lenses during my PC service and another saying that my ankle has gotten better with the lack of gymnastics training (and it has).
3 and 4) 2 Titers..1 against Varicella and the other for Hep B surface antibodies. --Originally my doctor only wrote down that I had chicken pox when I was younger and apparently my Heb B vaccinations have worn off since 1996 (Because of this I've already received 2 out of 3 of the necessary Hep B vaccinations).
5) An ophthalmology exam sheet explaining that I have fully recovered from a corneal abrasion that I had last year from contact lens overuse.

So..at the beginning of last week I wrote my 2 statements, received my titers, and sent in the letter to my Optometrist/Ophthalmologist who told me he had completed and mailed me and the PC the ophthalmology questionnaire sheet. I was told to expect all the results by well..tomorrow! I have to fax in all of my papers and once so I am really hoping that I am able to do that by Wednesday. Unfortunately I expect to miss having everything done by the 26th, and therefore will not have any Toolkit updates to look forward to, but that's okay. I am just hoping to get everything in this week, and be medically approved. Fingers as always are crossed, and I hope I get through this next step so I can finally start doing PLACEMENT!

And also..I am leaving for Thailand, China, and Japan on August 1st!! I have already told the PC that I'll be gone from Aug 1 - Sept 5th, but I just can't help but feel like all of the important PC stuff will happen while I'm in Asia..Timing is everything haha.. but I'm sure everything will fall into place.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Oh..this process...

After receiving dental clearance I got super psyched waiting to hear about my medical clearance..well it didn't come..yet. I changed my address back to my Cali address right after receiving dental clearance, but unfortunately PC papers got sent back to my apartment in Columbus. My roommate called me today to tell me 2 envelopes had come from the Peace Corps. Of course this made me super nervous/excited and I asked her to open them and tell me what they said. She texted me that one was about dental coverage for a year, and the other said my medical information was...incomplete. :(. She said she had left the house already, but tomorrow she could call me and tell me more details. I have RAS soooo badly right now. I just really want to know what is missing from my med packet so that I can submit it and start talking to placement. I'm also still nervous that something may be wrong. To make matters slightly more stressful, the toolkit will be shutting down come July 26, and I really want to have everything complete by then. I feel like I'm so close to  that invitation, but I'm still worried that something may be wrong. Oh, this process.. it is for sure a patience tester!