Finding support, a good restaurant and support meetings while in Houston
Dear ProtonPals:
Although it’s been only a week since our last mailing, I felt we needed another note before the end of May and wanted to call your attention to some new items.
1) A very nice note from Lyle Gilroy about his experience in Houston. I’m pleasantly surprised that many of our Pals at the Proton Center find that Houston is a great city and are not shy about letting folks know about it.
Here’s one of the best stories I’ve received in the past year about how you can “create” a support community where ever you go, at the Proton Center, at a local church and at one of our great museums. I’ve been remiss in not following up any sooner and what I found out this morning is that there were two families who had great experiences working with the Museum of Natural Science. In addition to Lyle, Ken and Jan Caufman, who were residents in 2007, also found the museum family extremely welcoming. The volunteer coordinator, Mrs. Keller, is very open and approachable and if you’re are planning your two months stay in Houston, currently in treatment or if you’re a resident, she would welcome a contact and bring you into her volunteer “family”.
The note from Lyle.
Joe: I want to “Thank You” for your e-mail I received yesterday. I would like to say how much my wife and I enjoyed our “vacation” in Houston Texas while I was taking my Proton Therapy treatments. We not only found a “Proton Therapy” family, a “church” family, but we also found a “family” at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Betty & I went to the volunteer office of the Houston Museum of Natural Science after chatting with friends from our home town of Loveland, Colorado who also graduated from the Proton Therapy center in April 2007, and volunteered at the Museum. We served as “docents” at the butterfly center at the museum but there are many other areas where help is needed. We had a great time with a group of “super” people serving two days a week (optional) for approx. 2 hours a day. It is a great opportunity to serve and do some fun things. I was able to read only so many books, and put together only so many puzzles. Let me know if you could chat with the great people at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and then inform the patients receiving Proton Therapy, particularly the new patients, of this great opportunity to volunteer. The contact person at the Houston Museum on Natural Science is:
Sibyl Robertson Keller, Volunteer Recruiter and Education Coordinator
One Hermann Circle Drive
Houston, TX 77030-1799
713-639-4656 —- Fax 713-639-4755
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Get Involved at Houston Museum of Natural Science
Lyle Gilroy, Loveland, Colorado
2) Here’s another great testimonial to our fair city, Houston from Trevor Bradway. That’s quite a good review considering Trevor lives in one of the most beautiful areas in the US. He had a good experience with the center and wanted to let you know some great restaurants that he had visited. Personally, I’d add two more to the list and that’s Chrurrasco’s and Amazon Grill, both run by Michael Cordua Restaurants.
The note from Trevor.
Hi Joe,
My name is Trevor Bradway (from Vail, Colorado). I finished up my treatment on April 17 but stayed on in Houston for an additional week because we enjoyed the area so much. Everything went very smoothly and I have not had any after effects. That said, I soon realized that many of my fellow patients had very little idea about where to go out to eat (other than the few local places). To meet that perceived need I put together a list of area restaurant recommendations and distributed it to all the patients I came across. My wife and I had checked out many of these restaurants and the list was vetted by several folks “in the know.” I believe Tai may now be including it in the welcome package for future patients. A copy is attached; feel free to publish it on your web-site if you believe it might be of some value.
Best Regards, Trevor Bradway
http://protonpals.net/nutrition/trevors-restaurant-recommendations
3) Sloane Caskey and her staff regularly host support group meetings at the Proton Center on the last Wednesday of the month. The next meeting is on May 28th at 1:00 pm. and the talk will be on “Nutrition and Prostate Cancer”. This makes for an opportunity to meet for lunch in one of the restaurant’s Trevor recommended. If you’re interested please let me know and I’ll promote with the web site and we’ll pick a place to meet. Isn’t this a nice tie in with a list of restaurants in Houston?
http://protonpals.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/support-group-flyer-may-2008.pdf
Please let Ban and I know if there’s a topic you’d like to see addressed in our mailings or on the web site.
In Gratitude
Joe Landry, Ban Capron
