Friday

Yesterday was the first day of my really comprehensive medical screening, and today I have mostly finished it. It exists to test my availability as it relates to Sunshine's job. It's important to know if our destinations will interfere with any necessary long-term health management, and so these tests are mandatory. Some posts have access to world-class medical facilities. Some have dedicated medical professionals on site. But there are also still places in this world where there is no access to anything better than evacuation in the face of medical emergency, places without access to any sort of pharmacy worth gambling one's faith on. So I have to cover all of the same bases Sunshine does in these things, even though I'm not an actual employee of her company. I know they have our best interests at heart, but it's a grueling process and after being prodded for two days, I'm still not done. For example: it seems I still have to get a chest x-ray. This cannot be handled in the same office because they have no radiology lab there. I was handed a well-mimeographed sheet with likely walk-in x-ray services in the Foggy Bottom area. I have as long as I want to get this done, and Sunshine's employers will, of course, reimburse us for any out-of-pocket expense. Also, since they need to examine the results of my TB test within seventy-two hours of administering it, I will have to return to the doctor's office on Monday. This is apparently a literal thing: Monday, a studied professional will examine the tubercular hole they needled into my arm today. They will note its appearance, and then check a box on a yellow form. Yesterday was a better day for needle stories, however. Please see part two tomorrow.* [Cavin]