PCV Root in Bangladesh writes: Today, PC DC informed me that if everything keeps coming in as normal, then they will medically seperate me. I will be removed from Peace Corps and will be stranded in America with no plan, no job, and no home.



"Worst case scenario, in a month I will be forced to resign as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have borrowed against my future end of service readjustment allowance so that I could make this flight home, there goes $1300 plus the additional $1800 I lose from not completing service. That leaves me with vertiually no money to start a new life in a new year."

PCV Root in Bangladesh writes: Today, PC DC informed me that if everything keeps coming in as normal, then they will medically seperate me. I will be removed from Peace Corps and will be stranded in America with no plan, no job, and no home.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Pause...Stop...Breath.

Brain crashes about in a whirlwind of thought and confusion. Tests are done, more to come. Results inconclusive, future dim. Chaos reigns in this foreign land and foreign home. All that is known has been left behind and adjustments to this stress remain elusive.

What has happened? As you know, Shannon and I returned to the United States to deal with a family emergency that her family is having. A two week absence without pay to come and help the family is now looking like a one way ticket to stay. Forget all of the stress and miscellaneous others that we've had to deal with for that problem, but we figured since we were here, I could get some extra medical evaluations on what has been going on with my stomach. Chronic problems since last September, consistent symptoms starting in January, no explaination, no reasons. A mad rush around to doctors here. Lab work done, blood drawn, stool collected and cultured, ultra-sound performed, colonoscopy and endoscopy simultaniously performed, triple the amount of narcotics and sedatives to put yours truly down...still nothing. Not all results are in, most still out. Tomorrow a capsulated camera will be swallowed and will film my small intestine, like all the others in hopes of seeing some parasite, worm, bacterial growth, or who knows what else. Peace Corps refuses to pay for this procedure, so the kind doctor is doing it pro bono. (I seriouly think that he is more academically concerned with what is going on than anything else, but I'll take it.) Today, PC DC informed me that if everything keeps coming in as normal, then they will medically seperate me. I will be removed from Peace Corps and will be stranded in America with no plan, no job, and no home. Return flight scheduled for 1am Tuesday, can't go if results are not back or if they are inconclusive. Shannon can't stay unless she takes additional personal leave without pay. Worst case scenario, in a month I will be forced to resign as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have borrowed against my future end of service readjustment allowance so that I could make this flight home, there goes $1300 plus the additional $1800 I lose from not completing service. That leaves me with vertiually no money to start a new life in a new year. THe plan was to finish service, travel for half a year and then return to grad school. All gone. Oh, I am married too. Shannon and I together maddily scrabbleing to put our lives together for an unexpected year. All answers unkown. Still dealing and helping with the family here. Still lost in this strange land. Brain is baked and the annoying TV drones on and on in the back ground, piercing my consciousness, breaking my concentration.

Faceless voices as surreal as rickshaw bells once were. The burden and stress attempt to break us as the minutes of the days drag on by with the answers yet to come. Oh what fun it has been to come home.

(On the bright side, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is being released tomorrow!!! Shannon and I have actually had a pretty good time here considering all of the circumstances. She got her film developed and they are phenomenal. Watch out National Geographic, be prepared to pay up.)
As you can see, we be dealing with a lot here. More updates as they come. Peace Y'all!
- posted by David @ Thursday, April 28, 2005

When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:



Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

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American Taboo: A Peace Corps Tragedy Returned Volunteers met with author Philip Weiss in Baltimore on June 18 to discuss the murder of Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner. Weiss was a member of a panel that included three psychiatrists and a criminal attorney. Meanwhile, the Seattle U.S. Attorney's office announced that Dennis Priven cannot be retried for the murder. "We do not believe this case can be prosecuted by anyone, not only us, but in any other jurisdiction in the United States." Read background on the case here.

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June 16, 2005: Special Events Philip Weiss, PCV murder writer, speaks in Baltimore June 18 "Rainforests and Refugees" showing in Portland, Maine until June 25 "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 NPCA to hold Virtual Leaders Forum on July 29 RPCV's "Taking the Early Bus" at Cal State until Aug 15 "Artists and Patrons in Traditional African Cultures" in NY thru Sept 30 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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June 14: Peace Corps suspends Haiti program After Uzbekistan, the Peace Corps has announced the suspension of a second program this month - this time in Haiti. Background: The suspension comes after a US Embassy warning, a request from Tom Lantos' office, and the program suspension last year. For the record: PCOL supports Peace Corps' decision to suspend the two programs and commends the agency for the efficient way PCVs were evacuated safely. Our only concern now is with the placement of evacuated PCVs and the support they receive after interrupted service.

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June 6: PC suspends Uzbekistan program Peace Corps has announced that it is suspending the Uzbekistan program after the visas of 52 Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were not renewed. The suspension comes after a State Department warning that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in Uzbekistan and after the killings in Andizhan earlier in May. Background: PCOL published a report on April 23 that Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were having visa difficulties and reported on safety and visa issues in Uzbekistan as they developed.

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June 6, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Kinky Friedman will "sign anything except bad legislation" 6 Jun Niels Marquardt Makes Chimpanzee Protection a Priority 6 Jun Laurence Leamer needs approval for "Today" appearance 6 Jun Desperate Housewives' Ricardo Chavira is son of RPCVs 6 Jun Anthony Sandberg runs Berkeley sailing school 5 Jun Amy Smith field-tests sugarcane charcoal 5 Jun Mary Johnson organizes workshop on genocide 3 Jun Jonathan Lash in 100 most Influential Business Leaders 3 Jun Hastert jump-starts Chris Shays' Campaign 3 Jun John Coyne says 41 RPCVs applied for scholarships 3 Jun James Rupert writes on bombing in Kandahar mosque 1 Jun John McCain says to expand opportunities for service 1 Jun Jay Rockefeller's relationships with Japanese go way back 1 Jun Anat Shenker met her husband during service in Honduras 31 May Ryan Clancy punished without hearing for visiting Iraq 30 May Melissa Mosvick remembered as a fallen American hero 29 May Kurt Carlson played basketball against Togo's national team 29 May Helen Thomas's favorite president remains JFK 24 May

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Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong 170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

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