The GAO outlined a series of steps for the Defense Health Agency to take to ensure future transitions went smoothly. By 2016, the GAO said, all of the steps had been successfully implemented. <\/p>\n
In January, Shoemaker returned to the speech pathology clinic to take a swallow test. He had stopped going in for regular therapy sessions in August.<\/p>\n
His cancer treatment led to scarring that thickened the muscles in his throat and made swallowing difficult. He carries a cup with him because his salivary glands have dried up, creating mucus and phlegm in his throat, and he undergoes periodic dilations to expand his throat.<\/p>\n
If Shoemaker loses his ability to swallow, he risks aspiration \u2014 when food, liquid or stomach contents enter the airway. It can lead to pneumonia, which can be deadly.<\/p>\n
Katrina Jensen, his speech-language pathologist, threaded a tube with a small camera on the end up Shoemaker\u2019s nose and down the back of his throat to watch him swallow several foods with different consistencies.<\/p>\n
![\"Shoemaker](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260415-shoemaker-3-rs-5f68a4.jpg\")
Shoemaker and Kathie, his wife of 27 years, who also worked as a recruiter. “Military terms, we’re battle buddies,” he said.Desiree Rios for NBC News<\/p>\n
Each time, Shoemaker aspirated when he swallowed. More concerning, Jensen said, was that he wasn\u2019t even aware of it sometimes. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe safest thing would be,\u201d she said, \u201cfor you to get a feeding tube.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shoemaker looked up at the ceiling. His expression changed. He had had one for about six months at the beginning of his cancer treatment, when he was doing radiation. \u201cNot a fan,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Jensen said he wouldn\u2019t be at this point if his treatment hadn\u2019t been paused for so long. \u201cThey\u2019ve been denying care,\u201d she said of TriWest. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating,\u201d Shoemaker said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say the term or use the phrase often that says \u2018I\u2019m owed.\u2019 But the reality of it is, I am owed. I mean, I held up my part of the bargain. Now the other side needs to hold up their part of the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n
At home after the appointment, Shoemaker put on a brave face in front of his family. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to keep them optimistic \u2014 Dad is Dad now, and he\u2019s going to get better, right?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
But privately, he feared the worst. The swallow test results and the feeding tube, he said, meant he was going in the wrong direction. \u201cI guess you could always say you think you have more time,\u201d Shoemaker said. \u201cMaybe this is telling me I really don\u2019t have that much time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shoemaker\u2019s problems with TriWest still aren\u2019t resolved: He said he\u2019s facing a new denial, once again linked to other health insurance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need constant care, and I need the care to be flawless. I can\u2019t have somebody questioning everything that I need,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
If he were still an Army recruiter, he said, he\u2019d have to change his pitch. It would no longer be guaranteed healthcare for life. <\/p>\n
\u201cEver since I went in, I love the Army. And I enjoyed it. I loved recruiting. I mean, I was proud to be able to put people in and watch them ship off and get a better life,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now all of a sudden, the thing that you love your whole life, it\u2019s almost like they\u2019re turning their back on you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cDHA holds all of its contractors to the highest standards of performance and compliance with their contractual obligations.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-415321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}