04/21/09 - Jason's Deli

Posted 4/28. Jason's Deli . Very good food. There may be one near you. You can eat fairly healthy choices. In fact, when we went there last week, they were displaying some type of award on our table claiming that they were one of the top ten healthiest restaurants you could attend. (In the photo below you can see a reflection in one of the doors of me taking it.)


Outside Jason's Deli
They also have a salad bar. Thing is, some items are free to the regular patrons. I especially like their mini corn muffins. I'm also addicted to their soft-serve ice cream cones. They aren't special, but I usually eat at least 5. Yum!


Ice Cream Cone #6 from last week
We will likely go there for dinner after my chemo treatment today.

04/21/09 - Moffitt Media

Posted the morning of 4/28. I took a few pictures at Moffitt Hospital last week, which I am posting now. Besides helping people with medical issues, it is a very nice place, so here is a chance to see some of it...


GPS path to Moffitt
It takes Laura and I about an hour to get there. Sometimes it is a lot more sometimes it is a little less. On the GPS track above, our house is at the left end of the green track and Moffitt is at the right end. There are a couple of little detours we took near either end to avoid traffic pile-ups...


Moffitt's Slogan
This is a picture of a large slogan posted on one of Moffitt's parking garages. It's pretty much the first thing we see when we get there.


Me at the Neurology Clinic
Me outside the Neurology Clinic. Moffitt just moved this from a smaller area. Behind the glass door is the waiting/check-in area, which is very nice and comfortable. I don't have any pictures of the "consultation rooms", but I will likely have some after today. They are incredibly nice also. Some naysayers may construe that Moffitt is spending too much money on their decorations/furnishings, but I am sure that it creates a special environment, where patients can feel more comfortable and relaxed for a moment.


Inside one of Moffitt's Lobbies
The above photo is one of Moffitt's lobbies. This is usually where we enter...


Outside by one of Moffitt's garages, in a courtyard type of area
Outside the same lobby. This area is by a parking garage, which is tended by free valets. We don't really like valets, but at least they are at a hospital, were they might assist patients.


Another Moffitt building across the valet area
Across the "courtyard" from the valet waiting area. Another building (which I have not entered) with modern styling. That is it for now with Moffitt photos...

04/21/09 - Intrathecal Chemo #7 - Delayed

Posted 4/27/09. I was scheduled to receive my seventh intrathecal chemotherapy dose last Tuesday/ 4/21. My Neuro-Oncologist gave me the option to delay it for two weeks, given my recent issues. I chose to delay it a week.

Why a week? Well, my COBRA health insurance will run out on April 30th - two days after my rescheduled intrathecal chemo tomorrow (the 28th). After that, I may be in a state of "health insurance limbo" and it's definitely enough risk that I don't want medical expenses during that time. Besides my COBRA health insurance, I also have Medicare Parts A and B, so I will at least have those two as a back-up plan. I'm trying to get on Laura's medical insurance, which is likely my best option for coverage.

Medicare is a different kind of animal. If it becomes my only health care, I will likely have difficulty obtaining a Supplemental (Medigap) plan. That is a type of plan that picks up a lot of other medical expenses that parts A and B do not cover. Unfortunately, it caters to those that are 65+ (I'm disabled), supposedly people diagnosed with cancer over the past TWO years (I was re-diagnosed in September 08) aren't entitled to Supplemental coverage, and having more than 2 hospital admissions recently (I've had 3 admissions in last month or so). There are some questionable loopholes to get Supplemental coverage, but they are uncertainties that I don't want to risk. I will also need to get a Part D plan to cover prescription drug expenses.

Whether I'm able to get on Laura's plan, or I'm faced with selecting extra Medicare plans, I will keep Medicare Parts A and B. I do have to pay for part B, which some may consider to be extraneous, but once you have it, it can be difficult or impossible to reinstate if you cancel it.