Medical Review - Vancouver

[Bernie and Gary 0]

Dec 10 - The three of us traveled all the way to Vancouver. We decided to stay at the Four Seasons (very lovely, but no coffee maker) because it was half way between the Woking Medical Clinic and the Consulate, and we were eligible for a very good discount ($125/night). It was attached to the Pacific Centre Mall and about a block from Robson Street, as well as the Skytrain which took us to the Mall for some Christmas shopping.

Dec 11 - We got up early and walked toward the Clinic. On the way, we decided to get some breakfast at Denny's (don't go there, it was pricey and greasy). When we arrived at the Clinic on the first floor at 0615, we were third set of people in line. The receptionist came through a door (from the stairway) and advised us to enter the clinic on the second floor. We all filled in medical history forms, etc. and handed them in, then we were given numbers 6 & 7 (under 16 doesn't require blood or x-ray - he was disappointed) and told to go through two doors and into the lab area and wait to be called by number. Make sure you ask for a copy of your passport (that the clinic keeps) for the lab to verify your identity, and thankfully we had our drivers licences with us. But the lab tech was kind of inconvenienced. Then we were sent back to the clinic. The X-ray dept is attached to the clinic waiting room, and they too call the same numbers, only took a minute. But the 17 year old's film didn't turn out so he did a retake, took another minute.

In total there were approx 12 people there for immigration medicals for many different reasons. We had all of our papers with us, medical records from past hospitalizations including prognosis (including chidbirth - sheesh!) and our immunizations. All was good. Except my oldest son who is very athletic beat the NHL players in heart rate, he was sent for an ECG with a Cardiologist exam - no worries but recommended that he pursue an athletic career (he's so big and strong!). Physician and staff were awesome, he brought coffee for his staff and they were all friendly. One of them are present for female exams, we chatted about the bruises on my legs, I play full-contact sports. I commented to them my impression of their positive working relationship, and they agreed - they're good!

All in all the experience was quite pleasant, and a bit longer than we thought - at least we had breakfast, but we were still third in line and were out long before the others were, and left the building at around 1045.

We walked back (about 5 blocks) to the hotel and had a nap. The kids stayed while I walked back to the clinic to get our results and film. I paid the fee ($325 X 2 adults and $150 for child - whoa) and left. Then proceeded to stop at Bebe and Le Chateau to find myself a gift, nothing white for a wedding - wrong time of year - oh well).

We hung out for the rest of the afternoon, then went for sushi that evening. Life is grande!

~ Will post the interview in a moment!