Medical Instruments Exam Room?

Okay...

What a morning...

To get our visas converted to one-year...we had to go and have a health exam done. No eating since last night, and show up at an event that felt quite a bit like "herd health day!"

You first line up, while many stares follow you incessantly...then you get your "form" with multiple "rooms" you must visit for your exams before you turn the form in at the end of your visit. In theory, 4 days from now someone from the corporation will go pick up our health certificates that attest to your strong bodies and minds (likely that will be a stretch) and will then turn it into the authorities to prove our worthiness.

Let's talk about what can happen in those rooms.

1) X-ray room - Daddy swears no x-rays were actually taken. There was a machine and someone went out to the other room to manipulate the big machine...but it didn't "sound" like any pictures were taken nor did the machine stop moving long enough to take a picture in our estimation. (oh...also...no shoes can be worn in the room so everyone wears the same "slippers" in and out of the room)

2) Blood Pressure room....quick stop...slip the old arm into a very dated-looking machine that pronounced that Dad nor I had any hypertension. Which was incredible after the anxiety that was aroused looking at the other rooms we had to visit!

3) A "surgical room" where we stood on a machine without our shoes...it seemed to take weight and some other measurements through our feet...Dad suspicioned that it was really a star-trek transporter.

4) The blood/urine room...pick up your sample cup....go to the squatty potty...leave your sample on a tray with 30-40 other similar cups of various yellow hues...the chain of custody rules back home do not apply.

Then you wait to be asked to come to the blood drawing window (just like at the bank or Social security office...but instead you offer your arm and they take two vials of blood. - a little rough...but we managed

5) Then the ultrasound room...don't know what she was looking for...but when she told me to pull up clothes...I thought she meant my skirt and she and Ms Yang shouted "NO, NO...just your shirt!" ...beautiful experience... Then I had to inhale and hold my breath (at least I think that's what she wanted me to do...very hard to tell)...then she sent me packing without making any eye-contact.

6) The "Medical Instrument" room sounded very foreboding. And as we watched people coming out with various stages of undress and looking a bit uncomfortable...well our minds went to the worst case scenario (perhaps checking the men-folk for hernias or perhaps bowel obstructions?) We were most relieved to find out that it was only an EKG test...of sorts.

The lady performing the test on me had real trouble getting the electrodes to "stick" on my chest. I lay there, fully uncomfortable and exposed for some time while she fiddled with twisted cords and some sort of jelly.

I think it's entirely possible she'd never in her whole para-medical career, seen such a sight.

We'll give you the all clear as soon as we have it.

Off to receive a pizza delivery guy...or so they say...we'll see.

Hopeful today...and thankful that the medical check is over...