Since our appointments were in the afternoon, we used the morning to catch up on some things and start getting ready to leave Lake Conroe and move to the Homewood Suites in the Westchase area of Houston.  Although it is beautiful here, we were not anticipating having to make the drive to Houston every day which is about 60+ miles each way.  We are glad we were able to stay up here but also looking forward to being closer as we get the treatment started on Monday.

We had Travis’ port accessed again so that they could do 2 MRIs on his spine this afternoon.  We are figuring out the numbing crème and the bandaging that helps the process go smoother, especially when the port and bandaging is removed.  At least we know a few people are reading our updates because after we wrote about the problems with the bandaging on Wednesday, we heard back from our friends, Bessie, who is a nurse and she gave us some tips that would help with the bandages and removal.  Thanks Bessie!  The MRIs took close to 2 hours so they did the first MRI (top and lower spine) for the first hour and then added contrast so that they could redo them again.  Travis did great and he said that he just focused on his strategy for a game he has been playing on the Kindle (Balloon Tower Defense 5).  Afterwards, we went down to the cafeteria to get some ice cream but as they were closing up, we could only find cake.  So, he sacrificed with a piece of German chocolate cake and ate the whole thing before we got on the road.

Just before Travis’ MRIs tonight, we received a text from his buddies on the Tennessee Volunteers flag football team back in Carlsbad.  They wanted him to know they were rooting for him.  They ended up winning the game and sent us a picture of the team holding a sign for Travis.  Great job boys and Go Vols!

All of the people we meet here have been so nice and supportive, whether they are staff, doctors, patients or family members.  Pretty much everyone is at MD Anderson for similar reasons and that helps create an instant bond.  We are all praying and pulling for each other and it makes you feel like we are all in this together.  In fact, we have met so many people and even some from CA (San Marcos, Vista, and Mira Mesa).  It really is a small world!

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne