Second Medical Clearance Appointment at the State Department

I gave myself extra time today to get to my appointment, but I was still late. First, traffic was was backed up thanks to the protestors dangling from cranes over the State Department. Then, of course, there was no parking available in the garage at Columbia Plaza, or at the Watergate. However, I lucked out and got free parking across the street from the Saudi Embassy and Kennedy Center. I made it to the security desk right when my appointment was supposed to start, but of course, there was a back up at the desk as well. About ten minutes later, I was through security and in the clinic. Finally!

I only had to wait a minute for Dr. Tron, then we had a nice conversation about my blood work and medical history. I am very healthy! Good blood pressure, liver function, and my cholesterol levels are very good, there’s just this little matter of my hyperparathyroidism. She wants a letter from Dr. Selvaggi (my endocrinologist) with a diagnosis and recommendations, but Dr. Tron doesn’t think it will hold up my medical clearance. I suppose you have to be in pretty bad shape to get denied a clearance for medical reasons. I think it helps that I’m pretty well informed about my situation, and I understand all of the risks and the steps to take.

All in all it went well. I still need to get my chest x-ray done and get a few medical records from GIMG, but it looks like my medical clearance will go through without a problem.