Grad School Frustration and Success

Okay, I just have to vent for a second...and then share some very RELIEVING news! As part of my application for grad school, I have to have an updated record of my immunizations (measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria and tetanus). This appeared to be a pretty simple task...or so I thought.

So I first started looking for records for my most recent tetanus shot. I started with ALL the school districts I have worked for and ALL the clinics I went to while I was teaching at each school. There was no record of any tetanus shot. Okay, so then I skipped the tetanus shot...I was pretty confident that I would probably need a new one. No Problem! Moving on…

So then I had to find the rest. I started with my mother...bad idea! She knows she has the records SOMEWHERE in her house (but it would probably take her 3 weeks to find them.) So I then called the clinic I had them done at when I was a child. After waiting for THREE days for them to return my call, they said they couldn't find them anywhere, even on microfilm. (They said they really only keep records for 25 or so years...big help!) Then I called my grad school and asked their advice. Although the lady was very nice, she said I still had to have the month and year (even though my Mom SWEARS I had them done), so either I find records of them somewhere, or I need to GET THEM AGAIN! THAT'S RIGHT...AGAIN! Okay, so now I was on a mission. She also suggested I call my undergrad school and see if they have a record.

After being on hold for 12 minutes with Northwestern and having been transferred to THREE different places, I finally got a hold of health services. And then I learned they only carry those records for 10 years...1996. I was one year too late! So they suggested getting a hold of my elementary or high school. Well, I wasn't even sure if my elementary school still existed (I was in a class of 11 1st - 3rd graders with 1 other student in my grade.), so I went straight to my high school.

Well, Mona was my life-saver! She was sure Shiloh still had records, and after 10 minutes, she called me back with the month and year of all my shots! Praise!

Now I can finally fill out my form…and take an aspirin for my headache.