medical and social clearance - hips and ink

[redgrrl40]

greetings - wannabe here. i've been to a couple of peace corps community sessions and have wanted to join since i was a weeee little one. i have two main concerns after reading and asking around

Comments

[thebigbadbutch]

I just got invited and I haven't been asked about any tattoos during this process at all. They are probably more concerned with the cultural aspect of such things. If you have tattoos and you are invited to a place where that isn't acceptable for women you either have to know how you're going to deal with that or be prepared to cover them up for two years. As for the medical stuff I have other medical conditions and if you are capable of completing your service they will just put you in a place where you can have access to necessary medical support. If you don't need medical support then you won't have any medical restrictions on where you are replaced. Simply having had surgery isn't a permanent disqualifier.

[xphilega]

Hi!

This is a small community, so the chances of anyone with a hip replacement seeing this is probably fairly slim. However, we did have a volunteer in her 80s serving when I was there, and it might restrict you to certain countries but I don't know if it would actually prevent you from going.

I'm on my way to work in a few minutes, but I remember searching around for various conditions when I applied (2006) and found all sorts of documents that have been released because of FOIA that were very helpful. If you have time to google around, it might be worthwhile. You may also have better luck on one of the larger google/yahoo groups.

The PC Wiki might also have good info-- I don't have time to check right now!

Good luck! I can't imagine tattoos being a problem either. :)

[xphilega]

Oh- just re-read! You HAVE done your homework!

I'd imagine since it explicitly says that joint replacement is okay one year out, you should be fine. Have you had issues? Do you think your doctor would clear you for it? If so, I wouldn't worry. :)

[redgrrl40]

Thank you for your responses - it helps a lot to have this feedback!

[meteoricpath]

I can't speak on the hip replacement issue other than to say what others have - if the medical restrictions page says a year out and you're longer than that it probably won't be an issue. You'll probably be asked about your mobility and maybe to see a specialist (aka more paperwork) but that's likely all

[pc_2009]

Hey

[lonelyinsanity]

Listening to both of you speak about tattoos so positively definitely gives me a lot of hope! I have a small one on my inner left ankle and have been worried about coverup especially in a hot region (ie C/S America, Caribbean) and am planning for more on my torso. Seems relatively minor in comparison to a sleeve :)

[pc_2009]

I have two on my wrists, two on my back and one on both my feet. between the short sleeves, tank tops and sandals, mine are almost always visible and no one has ever had a problem with it. We've even had some PCVs get more tattoos while they're here (in the bigger cities), and some have gotten the marks of the tribe they lived with. It's not a big deal here, but that's all I can speak to.

[nirethak]

In Honduras Peace Corps staff told us we'd have to keep our tattoos covered (in most of Honduras only gang members have tattoos), but most people found that once people in their communities got to know them, they could go around with their tattoos exposed and it wasn't a big deal. Most of the Hondurans I know get that Usains have a different attitude to tattoos.