Friday, 2/18 -- Cough, cough, hack.

It's been an interesting couple of days.

Yesterday we had a nurse come to the house for the first time. Part of Delaware County Memorial Hospital's Hospice program.

Now hold everything.

Stop! Don't jump to ANY conclusions here.

We have not transitioned into hospice care. My condition is not at that stage. We are still treating the cancer as "chronic" as before. Step by step, treat each symptom, keep after the bastard cells.

The introduction of the hospice nurse is to broaden the range of care they are giving to me. I've been so beaten up by the drugs and cancer lately that if I should get so weak that I need intensive, in-home care, I have it. The overall goal is to keep me out of the hospital. I'm all for that.

The hospice nurse will try to visit twice a week, if the insurance will cover it. I'm sure they will. My health insurance has been phenomenal. They have been great about covering everything. I don't know what I would have done without it.

Can you believe through all of this that I don't have a single horror story about medical insurance coverage?

Today I had an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. They wanted to make sure that my upper respiratory coughing is indeed an infection and not another tumor.

He stuck a camera up my nose and down my throat. It didn't hurt. It was just weird.
He saw nothing to be concerned about. No tumors or lacerations or other bad, funky throat things.

But just to be thorough, I have to go for a CAT Scan of my throat and have this funky swallowing test done on Monday. They want to make sure that I'm not going to choke when I eat. I have had some problems swallowing.

One thing that was refreshing, this was the first medical person I've met in months that hasn't asked me about my bowels. Maybe I should question his competence.