Houston the first time

The way Marie's treatment would work at MD Anderson was to start with a consultation appointment. Without a consultation there would be no treatment. We would have to travel to Houston on a weekend and be ready for Monday appointments. We flew down on a Sunday and checked into our hotel. All we wanted to do was relax. It would be a short few days in town and then back home.

The area in Houston where the cancer center is located, is called the medical center. There are numerous hospitals located in a central area. Around the medical center are many hotels and apartments, as well as other businesses. Most of the hotels have shuttles that run on regular schedules, taking people back and forth to the hospitals. We decided on Sunday afternoon to take the shuttle from our hotel to MD Anderson, so we could become familiar with it. I think we wanted to take the scariness out of it. It was short ride to the medical center. MD Anderson is a big place. The building was beautiful. Across the street are a clinic and a hotel, both connected by covered elevated walkways. The driver let us off at the front entrance and we went inside. We were surprised that the place seemed deserted, except for one security guard. He was quite friendly and asked how he could help. We explained that Marie had appointments there the next day, and we were trying to get familiar with the place. The guard gave us a map of the complex and showed us the different elevator banks. We were invited to look around the lobby. They have a number of fish tanks through the area and the whole place was peaceful and serene. There was nothing to be afraid of. It as a nice place with helpful, friendly people. We went back to our hotel and sat by the pool.