This afternoon, we had a small party for our Homewood Suites family.  We had a cake from Costco and Lynne decorated it with the Duck symbol of the Homewood Suites.  By the way, there is a story behind why they use the Duck as their symbol.  It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone!  From the General Manager to the Front Desk staff to the Housekeeping staff to the Kitchen staff to the Maintenance staff, they always went out of their way to check on us and make us feel special.  The week before we checked into the hotel, we stopped by to discuss our situation with the General Manager and front desk staff.  They were very welcoming and told us they would take care of us like family.  They have done that and more.  This has really become our home-away-from-home!

We received wonderful surprises from two more of our support system here in Houston, Pat and Leigh Ann, both of whom are friends of Christyn.  Thank you and your families for thinking of us and your continued prayers!

We have everything all packed up and ready to go!  It really helps make packing easier when everything is organized.  You all know how organized Lynne is, right?  We just need to load the van in the morning.  Any volunteers to help?

Sorry, we managed to fall several weeks behind on our Picture updates.  It is amazing how easy it is to let things go but we are back on top of it again.  We also sorted out the order in which they appear which has the newest pictures added to the bottom and the oldest at the top.

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne

Dear Homewood Suites Family,                                                                                 May 23, 2013

From the very first day we arrived, we were always greeted with a “Hi.  How you doing?  How’s your day? How are you feeling today Travis? Welcome back.  Nice to see you.”  And that has continued to this day.  From this, grew a friendship that I hold dear to my heart.  You took the time to make Travis and I (along with Tony, Tyler & Grandma) feel special and you went above and beyond in every way.

From the Housekeeping Team (Nancy, Shanique, Rosa, Fay, Elaine, Pauline, Rayquan, & Latoya-The Inspector) – You made our room look great every day.  Nancy always leaves us “Welcome Home” notes.

The Front Desk Ambassadors (Anuar, Brandon, Byron, Dream, Libby, Dwaine, Kenneth, Justina, Kelina) – You delivered endless packages and letters to our room.  Dream, who had to calm me down when I report a person in the hallway that looked suspicious.  It turned out to be the new maintenance man.  Brandon, who had to be on watch one evening when I had to go out and get Travis medicine.

The Chefs (Montinque, Beatriz, Angela, Sharon, Dana) – Who made Travis’ favorite French Toast for breakfast, even when it wasn’t on the menu.  We came home one day and they had delivered some to our room.  Sharon – One evening, we came down to eat a little later than usual.  She commented, “I was getting ready to bring a plate up to the room for you two”.  She also assisted in Travis’ school book report project.

The Maintenance Engineers (Jose, Homero, Jessie) – Who had to change the fan in the bathroom, along with the filters in the AC, to try and get rid of the smoke smell in our first room.  Homero figured out what was going on when we didn’t have any hot water.  Jessie replaced the beeping smoke alarm when the battery was dying.

Ricardo – Who always greets us when we come in or down for dinner.  He keeps a watchful eye over everything.  He also made a run in the rain to bring an umbrella to the car for me.  Thank you.

And last but not least, Tracy, who welcomed us from the very start and always says, “Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you”.  You can tell she means it.  We cannot thank you enough for the priceless smiles that you shared every day, the caring gestures, and your kind words.  You made Travis feel like a Rock Star.  If I didn’t mention your name, we appreciate you too.

As we head home, I am a little scared.  I just realized that I’m going to have to do everything that you have been doing for us.  How can I ever manage without you?  Trust me, you will be thought of every day.  Thank you again for taking the time to care.

Love,

Tony, Lynne, Travis & Tyler Selinka

We had our appointment today and then had to go take care of some paperwork at the big hospital so that our medical records can be sent back to San Diego.  After that, we had a few errands to run, school work to do and packing to start.  It is amazing how much you can accumulate after being in Houston for 7 weeks and from the countless care packages everyone has sent.  Thank you all for that!  We also spent a little time getting organized for our celebration here at the hotel and for one on Friday at the Proton Center.  We just can’t thank everyone enough for all they have done for us.

Thanks so much to Martine, Tiernan and Olivia for dinner!  You all are so thoughtful and we can’t wait to see you soon.  Thanks also to Lucy and Richard for the generous gift cards.  Travis can’t wait to use them!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

Dear Mrs. Roberts,

This has been a year that is beyond belief.  From the beginning of the school year, we felt so lucky to have Travis in your class.  You have a wonderful way of teaching the kids while they also have fun.  The element of challenge was always in the air.

The real challenge came when Travis started getting sick.  Thank you for helping him during the difficult time while we figured out what was going on.  Once he had his surgery and was on the mends, you were always flexible with what he could handle at the time.  Whether he was in the hospital or at home, he would always want to do his school work.  Even the hospital staff was surprised to see him working so diligently.  Now that we have been in Houston for six weeks, the challenge has been keeping Travis on track with the class.  We know the extra emails, copies, pictures, etc. that you have had to do were not a part of the 4th grade curriculum, but we really appreciate all the extra things you did for him.  We have to be honest with you, it’s not easy keeping up with your pace in the class but we enjoy the challenge.  It has really been one of the things to keep us going.  Travis looks forward to returning to school and being with his class.  He misses everyone and just wants things to be normal again.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you did for Travis (and us).  We truly appreciate it!

Love,

Lynne and Tony

Today was our early morning appointments and we left the hotel at 6am but it was all worth it since it was our last Vincristine appointment, last lab work and last port access here in Houston.  Yeah!  As a small celebration, Travis wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory and order (you guessed it) sliders while I had an Asian wrap.  We capped it off with a delicious piece of cheesecake.  It has been more than 6 months since we have eaten there and we had forgotten how good the food is.  We made it home to find a heavy care package box full of all kinds of goodies from the Yousko family.  Wow, you all are amazing, so thoughtful and you know how to brighten our day!  Thanks so much from Team Selinka…we can’t wait to be home and see you guys.

We went over to Christyn’s house this afternoon so that Travis could hang out with Mason, Jackson and Madison.  He seems so grown up when he is going through all of his treatments and appointments so it is great to see him be able to be a kid and play with his friends.  We also wanted to thank them again for everything they have done for us.  Christyn and the entire Whitney family has been a huge support for us!  Whether it was offering to help in any way she could to inviting us into their beautiful home to sending little notes, emails, flowers and other goodies to sharing our story with her group of close friends (Nancy, Karen, Shelley) and having them supporting and praying for us too.  Wow!  We couldn’t have dreamed of better friends and we are amazed at the lengths people will go to for those in need.  We have been very blessed in so many ways!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

Week 6!

As we head into Week 6, our final week, there are so many things to be done but the time is flying by.  We had our proton appointment and then headed over to the big hospital for a follow up hearing test.  They compared the results to those at the beginning of radiation and everything looks the same.  We then had to take Tony to the airport so that he could head home to Carlsbad.  This was the last flight he has to take back home since when he comes on Thursday, we will all be driving home.

We have been working diligently to keep up with Travis’ school work.  It is not easy with all we have going on but we keep trying our best.  We sent another packet home with Tony to turn in and posted a video of Travis’ book report.  From here, everything else will be turned in by Travis himself when we are home next week.

We received a special gift bag from Shelley (Christyn’s friend) when we got back home.  Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and making me feel special!  Thanks to Cara for a great dinner for Tony, Tyler and Grandma!  They said everything was delicious and very much appreciated!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony