This may not be worth it.
I just called the screening nurse. She likes to talk. Especially when the person on the other end is talking. And she's most definitely, always right.
Apparently, nothing was sent out on the 12th. She spoke about the placement officer with contempt, as if this kind of thing is always happening, that they are always making things up. Then, she went on to tell me that my asthma evaluation was never completed, a form that is three pages long and I remember the doctor filling out and I remember then sending along. I tried to get a word in, but she said that she could barely hear me. Nobody else has this problem. When I did speak, I couldn't take a breath or it was her turn to speak. The more frustrated I became with explaining my side, the slower, more deliberate and more childlike her speech became. This frustrated me as well.
She went on to say that I also hadn't seen a specialist for a certain potential physical problem. I had read the forms I was sent (I don't know how many times) and never ran across anything requesting this of me. I tried to relay this, but all I heard back was that she had the copies of all the forms that I was sent, and it was in there, so it must have been sent to me -- END OF STORY.
So here it was, I needed two more potentially time-eating and money-wasting forms filled out. And I find this out one month, 16 days after I sent the forms in. I was bold and asked her why I hadn't been notified, as everything had told me if anything was missing, I would be notified immediately.
"I have ten to twelve clearances to issue today. I don't have the time to go through everyone's information and make sure all of it was sent in."
And I was definitely the one taking up *her* precious time that she could spend ignoring applicant's forms and churning out those tedious clearances.
If I end up needing to see another specialist, my already ridiculous medical bill will skyrocket further. All told, the medical (physical, dental, eye) screenings will have cost me well in excess of $1000. This isn't what scares me, though.
What scares me is that these are the people who are going to ensure my safety in a world that is so completely different than the one I've spent almost 24 years in. They are going to tell me what immunizations I need and when I need them. They are going to make sure that if I start to feel sick, how serious it is and how it should be handled. And they can't seem to even send along a quick e-mail or phone call -- or even bother to check -- to see if my medical forms are complete in over six weeks. This is an organization who seems to be churning out volunteers as quickly as possible.
But there's light at the end of the tunnel. This, as I've always thought about it, is just a means to an end. There's almost always beaurocracy involved in these matters, and it's just being steadfast and committed that gets you through it. But with this added delay, it's most likely that I will not see a September departure date. What the hell am I going to do? That's the goal for this week, figuring this next part out. It won't be easy.
