Home Away from Home

I am in West Palm Beach, Florida staying at a Homewood Suites. It's a great little home away from home. My room has a full kitchen, with stove, dishwasher, refrigerator and microwave, a living room, bedroom and large bathroom. (When I end up with accommodations like this, I always think I should go to the grocery store and make cookies.)

The Homewood Suites always serve a full breakfast daily and a hot evening meal Monday thru Thursday. Yesterday evening, when I went down for supper, I noticed several children in wheelchairs with casts, braces and external fixation devices. This evening I was a bit later, and found even more families with obvious orthopedic interventions in progress. I asked the staff member working the meal and she said there is an orthopedic surgeon associated with a hospital nearby who works with children on bone lengthening procedures. The Homewood Suites has a contract with the hospital to provide lodging for these families during their stay. She said they get to watch these kids recover and over months get to know them and their families.

The dining room was fun. The kids all seemed to know one another and talked and played. Families chatted. The room was full of a dull roar of conversation. As I returned to my room, I talked with a family on the elevator. They have been coming for about a year and their daughter will need at least one more surgery, possibly two, but is looking forward to her legs being the same length and being able to walk independently.