Adam Ventures

I received a call from my Peace Corps screening nurse telling me that she had received my recent paperwork.  At the time I received the call I was driving and, sensing that, she asked me if it was a good time to talk or if I could pull over.  So I pull over because I’m anticipating a call thinking THIS HAS TO BE IT! MY CHARIOT HAS ARRIVED! FINALLY AN INVITATION!  Then she asked if I was able to speak privately.

Uhm, that’s not how this call is supposed to go.  Right after I answer you’re supposed to be sing-songing “Adam Baker have I got great news for you!”  Instead, you ask to speak to me alone?

As it turns out the lab results did not indicate that my hypothyroidism was being managed properly.  Upon reading the results my doctor increased my dosage but neglected to mention it anywhere on the forms.  And even though I can get a note from my doctor saying that he did indeed up my dose it won’t be enough to satisfy the Peace Corps medical office.  Which is understandable since they may not have as good or as sanitary places to take blood samples wherever I am sent.

The obstacle, though, is that I will have to wait a minimum of 3 more weeks to get tested again.  Of all the countries in Latin America that have Agriculture and Forestry Extension assignments leaving in September (Paraguay and Peru) only Paraguay will now be feasible and even then just barely so.  There is a 6-week minimum between when the Peace Corps invites you to serve with them and when you depart for that country.  And there are 9 weeks between now and when Paraguay is rumored to depart.  So even if I get the test results faxed to the Peace Corps medical office and have my screening nurse expedite my files then there is only a 1-day window in which I can be invited (unless they get to massage that 6-week rule a little bit).  Now I sit and wait.

Dismayed but not discouraged, here is what I have to hope for:

• I’ll be able to get a doctor’s appointment for the earliest possible time
• my bloodwork will be processed quickly
• my levels will be in range
• I can pick up a copy of my lab results and fax them in quickly
• my Peace Corps screening nurse will process them quickly, and then
• I’ll receive notice that my invitation is in the mail!

My fear is that if even one of those steps is not done as swiftly as possible then my chances of missing that September departure increase substantially.  Should, FSM forbid, my departure is pushed back, the next likely departure date is January.  That is a great fear of mine; I can endure the stress, anxiety, and mad dash that is my list of hopes up above but it will be heartrending to have to wait 4 more months due merely to a time crunch.

Here’s hoping my Peace Corps screening nurse, the Peace Corps medical office, and those in charge of invitations will take pity on me in the 3 weeks to come!