Travel Clinic Finale

We think we have had our last trip to the Travel Clinic. Yeah! The boys certainly don't want to go back. They received their final Hep A & B shots as well as Menactra. Actually all four of us were immunized for meningitis. We will still have to pick up our malaria prescriptions and prescriptions for a broad spectrum antibiotic to bring with us, such as Cipro. We were also shown a kit we could purchase with needles and syringes. Apparently it's a good idea to bring your own sterile needles and what-have-you, in case you ever have to have blood drawn for some reason in a developing country. This was not something I had ever even considered. The kit costs $14.99 so not a big deal. We will probably get one. If we buy it, we won't need it. If we don't buy it, we surely will. Isn't that always the way? So it's a little like insurance I guess.

The nurse also told us about a site called IAMAT, which stands for International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers. This looks quite good. You can pull up a malaria risk chart and see which parts of the world are most affected, that kind of thing. You can also access a database to find an English-speaking doctor in just about any country in the world. That could also be handy. I figure I should learn how to use that so that we never need it.

One really neat thing happened at the final travel clinic appointment and that was that Mitchell discovered a book in the waiting room entitled "The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores and Primates" by Richard D. Estes. Now this book is not really a kid's book. The only pictures are black-and-white line drawings, no glossy action photos of lions or elephants. Nevertheless, he was completely enthralled with this book and could not put it down. His 12th birthday is coming up this week so we have a copy for him, plus his own digital camera. I will have to make sure he doesn't read this blog for the next little while.

Only 8 weeks until we leave. Work is busy, of course, and we are in full swing finishing our basement for our tenants. So it feels like time is moving at warp speed. More updates to come . . .