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Now I guess I am going to be wintering over at the Pole instead of McM. All paperwork had to be re-done to reflect the status change from MCM primary to SPole Primary. I’m about 1/3rd the way through the dental/med PQ steps ( I am still waiting to have my eyes taken out of socket so they can be exam’ed from the back side, then there’s the anal probe…) I’m sceduled to go to training for fire/trauma and psych exam for two weeks in September which I guess we get paid for April 11, 2015…
So my question is this: did everyone else just breeze through the PQ ect, or did you guys have issues too? Lets hear your stories..How FUN for you!!!
Stories…. gosh – none here.
(I lie) It was hell getting it all arranged and passed! 1/2 way through they discovered I would turn “a certain age” … 2 weeks before departing the ice. TWO WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTING… which means the ENTIRE REST OF THE TIME, I was NOT “a certain age”. That meant I had to go back to the drawing board and get MORE tests – created to torture the more mature individual.
As always there are RULES and GUIDELINES. I made it through everything LAST year except the cholesterol level. They made me drop it UNDER 300 before they would allow me to go. I spent 3 weeks walking 2 1/2 miles a day and eating nothing but cheerios and skim milk! (Oh, and taking the darn medicine) I dropped it!
This year – I flunked the stupid stool culture thing so was moved ahead in class to the Colonoscopy Line. They were ‘so thorough’ I am cleared for the next 10 years!
Aaaah.. the things we do for a little adventure in our lives.
(BTW – I’m 38 and “some months”)
JoYeah, that’s one good thing that comes out of PQing — you have to get a full physical. It occasionally catches something that would otherwise go unnoticed. I was thinking of signing up as an alternate this year just to get the free exam, but then I thought, D’oh!, they might hire me.
I’d relate my own bizarre PQ Snafus but I can’t spell the medical words. My favorite story came from a PI who was medevac’d from the South Pole all the back to New Zealand because someone mis-read his chest x-ray and thought he had TB. He was quarantined the entire time. Once back in NZ they re-did all the tests. Afterwards the doctor comes in and says, “You have a nipple.” That was the x-ray ‘spot’ on his lung.
lol, I’ll make sure and hide my nipples. Don’t want to be quarantined.
Glad to hear I’m not alone from the sound of the other threads. I was starting to believe I was the only one struggling to get this stuff done.I was 40 when I did my winterover PQ. I was a late hire, and it was a major rush deal.
It took me a full month to PQ as a full-time job (and getting my house on rental, logistics, etc). I put 1000 miles on my Jeep (not cheap at 18MPG) hitting the different appointments. But, I was pretty healthy coming off of the summer in France, so that made it easier.
I found out that my cholesterol was on the high side, but just squeaked in. I’d like another work-up after this year of living on steaks, butter, beer and cheese. :-/ I bet I wouldn’t PQ right now.
This is probably only the second time in 9 years that they haven’t asked for more tests. My first year they found scars on my lungs. Then it was heart abnormalities. In between I had low calcium, high creatinine, high blood pressure, and at one point they said I was diabetic. Most turned out to be nothing, but they all held up the PQ process while I paid for multi thousand dollar tests. All were reinbursed except for extra dental work.
MBoulderGeek wrote:
> I bet I wouldn’t PQ right now.
I believe many winter-overs wouldn’t pass the psych immediately after wintering. It takes a while to get back into balance again, especially after the first time.
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