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When one is bound (with a wheelchair in the trunk) to the Houston Medical Center, there is a level of apprehension. Even though I was a patient there a few years ago, I have little confidence in finding my way around.
The first step was a conference with the GPS. Can you imagine how many St. Lukes there are in the Houston area? After some deliberation, we made our choice and headed for the goal. My son, Chad McMillan was a patient and we were determined to visit on that day.
One of our purposes was to deliver Dairy Queen chicken and dumplings. Yes, I made them once, a long time ago. DQ has done a very fine job with theirs.
It seems we flew to the Med Center. That part of the trip was quite satisfactory. We were aware that St. Lukes is behind Texas Children’s Hospital. No
A View Of Columbus Through Rose-Colored Glasses
BY NANCY DICKSON STILES
one could have guessed how many skyscrapers were part of Texas Children’s complex.
We drove rather cautiously and, believe it or not, Bob spotted a pedestrian that he could corner. The kind young lady immediately referred to her cell phone. With her help, our confidence grew. Sure enough, we were close to the front of the parking garage and were able to make our way to the handicapped section.
Interesting though how the handicap parking was not extra wide. Am I making you tired? Don’t give up at this point. The best is yet to come. We knew we were close to the goal. After entering the elevator, we shortly arrived at our destination. I guess the elevator signaled for us to step out. The elevator door closed quickly and we perused our location. But we were not in St. Lukes!
There were moments of “what do we do?” Then the door opened, and we were pleased to see three young women exiting. It didn’t take long for Bob to describe our dilemma. I forgot to tell you that our location could only be exited through the stairs and a door with a sign that read “Do Not Open.”
Two of the girls walked speedily away. The third asked politely “are you lost”? It didn’t take long for her to comprehend our circumstances. She cordially waved us into the elevator. We quickly explained that Chad was in the Denton Cooley Annex. Our guide immediately started a long trek to the Cooley Annex. The walk gave us time to find out that Jessica, our guide, was a student from New Jersey. The arrival at the 6th floor (we were able to tell her that much) gave us new energy.
Very quickly, we were led to Chad’s room and our chicken and dumplings were intact. Chad declared that they were perfect. Upon finishing the dumplings, there was one more request. “Please find me some peanuts without sugar.” I hate to tell you that this story continues for another “exploration” to find the peanuts. How many peanuts have no sugar? Let’s end this story before all my ink is gone. We’re grateful to the Houston Medical Center.
By the way, it only took two doctors and a cleaning lady to get us back to the parking garage.
