Facing the Future!

My consultation with Dr. N went very well - although he was quite blunt and to the point. He does not see the point of Mr. Indi carrying on with chemo when it seems as though it has reached the point where it is doing more harm than good. He also sees no point in having an MRI, only to discover that things are getting worse. In other words, he believes that Mr. Indi is now in end stage cancer and the goal should be to make him as comfortable as possible with home hospice care. I don't want to agree - but I know that what he is saying is true.

Dr. N swears that he has not denied Mr. Indi a hospital bed or wheelchair or anything else for that matter. In fact, he says that none of those requests have come through his office and, while I was standing there, he had his assistant, Daisy, get on the horn and start trying to trace down the requests. He is also making arrangements for a person from a home hospice care company to come and visit his Lordship and me so that we can make a decision regarding home care. Evidently, home hospice provides a lot more frequent help and gives respite to the primary caregiver -moi!

But, of course, once Mr. Indi goes into a hospice program, there is no more treatment for his cancer. But, as his treatment does not seem to be working any more - it seems like a logical move - although one that only Mr. Indi can make.

Regarding transportation to and from chemo and MRI etc. It seems that our insurance does not cover transportation other than in emergency situations - i.e. ambulance to the emergency room. So, I am stuck with the bill from last week's chemo and doubt that I shall get a refund - such is life!

The hospital bed has been denied by the insurance company, but Dr. N says that it is because the wording that was used, does not justify a hospital bed. He is going to make sure that the request is resubmitted using the right buzz words. That old bullcorn - you have to know how to play the system! Grrr.

I came away believing that Dr. N is trying to do what is right regarding Mr. Indi's care. But still shed a few tears.

Anyway - putting all that aside - I have not had the time to tell you all about Wednesday, Feb 11. The Day of the Toilets! (Do you remember The Day of the Triffids?) The toilet in the hallway overflowed and I had to take 10-12 clean bath towels out of the linen closet and throw them on the floor - THEN, like the bozo, brain-dead, elderly person that I am, I went and flushed the toilet in the master bedroom - ARGGGGGGG - it overflowed too! My son was here and we decided that we could find and fix the blockage - while Mr. Indi shouted obscenities at us from the bedroom. I was ready to call a plumber - at $60- per hour - when I thought I would try one last option. I went next door and got Jesus! He is an amazing chap. He would not give up, and after working with my son for over an hour with the snake and the high pressure hose - VIOLA! It was fixed. It seems that some idiot - can't imagine who! - had put some baby bum wipes down the toilet. I blamed it on our neighbor Freddie!

Today should be a fairly quiet day - HAHAHA! Steve, the therapist will be here at 8 ish but other than that nobody else is on the calendar. Maybe I will find a few minutes to tidy up my office. Don't hold your breath!

I took the picture of the orchids at the Arboretum in San Diego in 2006