Many people have been asking for the address where we will be staying so here is our home away from home for the next 6-7 weeks. The best way to call is still on our cell phones since we can talk at any time.
Homewood Suites – Westchase
2424 Rogerdale Road
Houston, TX 77042
Attention Guest: Travis Selinka
As much as we liked staying up on Lake Conroe, it was time to move down to Houston so we can take care of business and get this treatment started. So we packed up the van and checked out. Before we left the lake, we had to get that fishing session in that the boys have been talking about all week. Wouldn’t you know it, all those fish we were seeing from our balcony all week were nowhere to be found. So, we ended up feeding the ducks and birds while we fished. Someone had left a couple boxes of fluorescent green night crawlers which were pretty cool and Lynne said that putting them on the hooks reminded her of fishing with her Dad when she and Karen were little. She said that her Dad would have loved to be out on the lake with us. Man, Lynne can sure bait a hook!
Lynne and Travis Fishing!
Travis Fishing!
Tyler Fishing!
Feeding the Ducks!
After fishing for a couple hours, or should we say the process of fishing, we decided to get on the road to Houston. There was a BBQ place we had been trying to eat at all week but they are only open Wednesday through Saturday from 11am-7pm. With all of our appointments, we kept barely missing them each day. They were highly recommended so we had to try it. It is a small log cabin looking building and the food was awesome. They give so much that we all ended up taking some with us. Lynne said that we may have to make the 60 mile drive again on Mother’s Day. It was that good!
After being stuffed, we were on the road to the Homewood Suites in Westchase to get settled in for the next 6-7 weeks. We did a slight detour by the airport so that we would know the ins and outs for coming and going over these next weeks. It is a huge airport but pretty easy to navigate our way around. We arrived at the hotel later in the afternoon and talked with some of the staff we had met the week prior. Everyone was so welcoming and understanding of our situation. They said they would take care of us like family. The hotel has a basketball goal and small tennis court so we had to go out and shoot a few hoops and we played some soccer-tennis (basically like tennis but kicking a soccer ball back and forth). The Westchase area is pretty busy but everything we need is really close to the hotel. We found the McDonalds, Kroger (grocery store), Walmart, Target, Bank, Movie Theater, Mall and just about everything else you can imagine. There is a Catholic Church right across the street. And to top it off, Lynne found a Trader Joes which makes everything feel like home.
We have a nice suite with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc. They offer free breakfast every day and free dinners Monday through Thursday. We went ahead and stocked up on the essentials just to be sure we are covered no matter what. We are all settled in!
Thanks,
Tony and Lynne
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
Did we mention we had NO appointments today! That meant we were able to sleep in a little and hang out by the lake for a while before getting started on our day.
Houston, the Eagle has landed, or at least the ducks, pelicans and snowy egrets. We fed the ducks and there were some big catfish that came up. Travis really wants to go fishing so we will have to make that happen before we leave the lake and move to the Homewood Suites down in Houston.
Then we went to the Johnson Space Center. Since we are planning to be going back multiple times (just can’t get enough of the space stuff), we ended up getting the annual family membership which was not that much more than the single entry tickets. If you did not know, the Johnson Space Center is the mission control center for all NASA space missions from shortly after they are launched into space through when they touch down. It is also the main astronaut training center and the main engineering/training center for the US portion of the International Space Station (ISS). The center was named after then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson who was a driving force in making then President John F. Kennedy’s vision for going to the moon a reality. It is a very cool place with so much history from the Gemini, Apollo, Shuttle and ISS missions. We will definitely be spending more time there during our stay.
After we closed down the place, we went back to the Kemah Boardwalk area near Clear Lake for some seafood. The boardwalk is right on the Galveston Bay which leads out to the Gulf of Mexico. After the cold front came through on Wednesday night, the weather has warmed up again and the winds are gone so we were able to eat dinner outside right on the water. It was fun to watch all the boats going by.
On Friday, we will be back at MD Anderson in the afternoon to have Travis’ port accessed and then an MRI of his Spine.
Thanks for all of your continued emails, texts, phone calls, thoughts and prayers. They all really do help to keep us strong and our spirits up!
Love,
Tony, Lynne, Tyler and Travis
We have come to the conclusion that Houston is a very windy place! It is windy in the morning, windy all day and windy at night. We thought maybe the wind came from the Gulf but it seems that it always comes out of the southwest. We were told that this is an unusual year and that the winds are not usually like this after March. It must be the Travis effect coming in like a warrior! We did have a cold front come through today and the temperature dropped from the mid-70s down into the mid-50s. It caught us by surprise on our way back to the van.
We had an appointment at the Infusion Therapy center for Travis to have his port accessed for the first time. The area on his chest where he had the port installed a few weeks ago is still kind of sore so it did not feel so good. Then we had an MRI of his head done. It took a little longer since they wanted to do a finer resolution in preparation of the radiation treatment. After the MRI, we had to have the access to the port removed which hurt some probably more so due to the tape removal than the access. It had Travis thinking he wanted to stick with IVs instead of the port but we keep trying to reassure him that it gets better.
We got back to the condo around 7:30pm. Where did the day go?
Luckily we have not been scheduled for any appointments on Thursday so we are planning to sleep in a little and then we will be off to the Johnson Space Center. Houston, we have no appointments!
Thanks,
Tony and Lynne
It has taken a couple of days for us to not only figure out getting around Houston but also the small city of MD Anderson. When compared to Rady Children’s Hospital where everything is close together and very coordinated, MD Anderson is a large facility spread out over several campuses within downtown Houston. We take a shuttle bus to get around and sometimes we have to help coordinate between the various specialties since information can be lagging a bit from office to office. They are all very good at what they do so we know we are in good hands!
Our initial consultation and simulation appointments early this week have now turned into more than 10 separate appointments (Neuro-oncologist, X-Ray, 3 MRIs, Infusion Therapy for the port, Labs) that look to fill up most of every day this week (except maybe Thursday). We now have our preliminary Proton Therapy treatments scheduled out for 31 days (past Memorial Day weekend). We also seem to have the once a week chemotherapy plan that will be used in conjunction with the radiation treatment. Apparently adding chemo during the radiation therapy helps intensify the radiation on any cancer cells which is a good thing that has shown to increase the success rates. This does not change the plan for us to do the full chemotherapy treatment when we return home.
Travis during Simulation Appointment
Radiation Immobilization Mask…Whoa!
Before dinner time, we were able to drive down to the Clear Lake area near NASA to check out the area. We also drove out to the Kemah Boardwalk area to take a look around. It is right on the Galveston Bay part of the Gulf of Mexico and has a lot of shops, restaurants and rides. We are hoping that we can visit the Johnson Space Center in the next day or two.
Thanks,
Tony and Lynne
We had a long day of appointments. We started out registering as a new patient at the Proton Therapy Center and then headed over to meet with our Radiologist-Oncologist. Everyone was very nice and helpful. Dr. McAleer is very nice and explained more about how the process will go. We have the simulation appointment for Tuesday morning and they also scheduled an appointment with the Pediatric Oncologist. After these appointments, they will be able to officially formulate our treatment plan. They did let us know that we will be scheduled for 31 treatment sessions which means that we will not finish until after Memorial Day. Bummer! But hey, we are here and will do what it takes to make sure the treatment is successful.
We stopped by the Homewood Suites hotel in Westchase which is where we plan to spend the majority of our time (if not all) after this week. We drove over at rush hour to see how long it will take. It is not any worse than San Diego rush hour so things should be manageable. We talked with the General Manager and staff and they answered a bunch of our questions. They even invited us to stay and have dinner on the hotel. They are very nice people and they made us feel at home before we even checked in there so we comfortable there.
We have to get up early for our 8 AM appointment tomorrow!
Thanks,
Tony and Lynne
After 20+ hours of driving over these last 2 days, it was nice to have a relaxing day checking out the area around Lake Conroe. There are lots of boats, fishing, ducks and cool things to see. We decided to spend most of the day outside of the car. Imagine that!
We celebrated the 1 month anniversary of Travis’ surgery and he decided we would go to Chili’s for dinner. To see him running around now, you would never guess that he had brain surgery a month ago. We have Travis’ consultation appointment on Monday to get things started. Here we go…
These are the Answers to our Trivia Questions:
1. The maximum elevation on I-8 when crossing the mountains from San Diego to Arizona is just over 4000 feet.
2. Nothing…just kidding! You see a lot of Cactus between Pheonix and Tucson, AZ but not much of anything else.
3. The speed limit on I-8 in the Arizona Desert is 75 MPH.
4. The large musical instrument the cactus of the Arizona desert is named after the Organ Pipe.
5. The river you cross when leaving California into Arizona is the Colorado River.
6. The two major interstates that meet at Grand Junction, Arizona are I-8 and I-10.
7. Nothing…just kidding! You see a lot of desert and rock formations between El Paso and San Antonio, TX.
8. The Alamo (not the rental car company) is located in San Antonio, TX.
9. General Sam Houston was the President of the Republic of Texas and commanded the Texan Revolution defeating the Mexican Army in the battle of San Jacinto that led to the independent country of Texas. Their battle cry was “Remember the Alamo!”
10. The speed limit is 80 MPH throughout most of the Texas desert between El Paso and San Antonio.
We hope you are the big winner!
Thanks,
Tony and Lynne
After staying the night in El Paso, TX, we made it to Houston (actually Lake Conroe to the north) after another 10.5+ hours of driving. Whew! We are staying in a 2 bedroom condo right on the lake for our first week here before moving to a hotel in Houston for Travis’ treatment. We have a great view of the lake, pool and marina from our balcony. We are on the second floor so the boys have a separate bedroom/bathroom in an upstairs loft area above the main floor. Pretty cool for them to have all that independence!
Here are our Trivia Questions from our drive:
1. What maximum elevation do you reach when crossing the mountains on I-8 from San Diego to Arizona (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 or 5000 feet)?
2. What do you see between Pheonix and Tucson, AZ?
3. What is the speed limit on I-8 in the Arizona Desert (65, 70, 75, 80, or 85 MPH)?
4. What large musical instrument is the cactus of the Arizona desert named after?
5. What river do you cross when leaving California into Arizona?
6. What two major interstates meet at Grand Junction, Arizona?
7. What do you see between El Paso and San Antonio, TX?
8. Where is the Alamo (not the rental car company) located?
9. Who is the city of Houston, TX named after?
10. What is the highest speed limit between San Diego, CA and Houston, TX (65, 70, 75, 80, or 85 MPH)?
Answers to come in the next day or two!
Thanks,
Lynne and Tony
Carlsbad in our rear view mirror is kind of bitter sweet but we know this is the right decision to help Travis beat this thing. We are so thankful to have our friend Maggie as such a great house and dog sitter. We know Cisco is in great hands and thanks for taking care of everything!
Tyler had something important he wanted to do in his leadership class today at school so we waited to pick him up at 12pm. When we arrived, the school counselor, Laura Martin, asked to speak with us since we had notified the school about our situation. She and some of the staff had gone together to get us “Strength” and “Healing” necklaces. She said that even though we will not all be together, we will still be connected. She also included some Art Lessons at their art studio. Perfect! Thanks so much for your special thoughts!
Welcome to Arizona
Kids these days know how to travel!
McDonald’s and McFlurries!
During our loooooooooooooong drive (10+ hours) to El Paso, TX, we decided to come up with some trivia questions. What else are we going to do after the Kindle, Movies, Wii, Adventures in Odyssey, snacks, McFlurries, and hours upon hours of desert? We will post the questions tomorrow for a little fun.
Thanks,
Lynne and Tony
Travis the Warrior --- Kickin' Cancer! 