Shanghai

From Shanghai

This past week has been another interesting and busy one. As you know we have moved into our new apartment and I do think it will be very nice here. Today we went to the flower market and bought some plants and that really makes a difference. We had an interesting time trying to transport two big pots with plants via taxi cab.

My priority lists of things to do at the hospital has continued to grow and my time disappears. I went to a hospital appreciation dinner for the Ob/Gyn staff in honor of some work well done (very interesting and slightly gaudy restaurant where the waiters traveled on roller skates), a meeting attended by about 40 Beijing oncologists with case presentations followed by an amazing dinner, and a Blood Donor appreciation dinner accompanied by Astri and met the physicians for the American and Canadian embassies.

All this after returning from Shanghai on Sunday evening. I spent two days at our Shanghai hospital, meeting the CMO and Department heads and getting the full tour. In addition I was surprised to find that we have a Spanish hematologist who is already seeing patients one day a week and is interested in doing more. Therefore I may well start an oncology program also in Shanghai with her assistance.

Astri linked up with a guide suggested by Sharon Hastings and had a great tour of Shanghai on Thursday and went to the Shanghai Museum on Friday and then joined me and Annelie Qu, the hospital liaison for consultants for a tour of Zhongshan Hospital. The tour was of particular interest because it was given by Dr.Zeng who is a good friend of Bingbing Li and Jay Ye, our good friends. Bingbing's mother who is a physician and immunologist had been his mentor prior to his becoming a Radiation Oncologist and now he is the head of his department. After asking to also see the outpatient chemotherapy area we were taken to the Emergency "room" which houses this area. To our surprise he introduced us to his wife who is the head physician of the ER. What a "power" couple! The ER was amazing with at least 100 patients in small chairs getting IVs of all kinds, and overflowing beds with sick patients. Since the hospital is always full, they often have to take care of the critically ill for days at a time and therefore they run their own ICU. Dr.Zeng and I will plan to meet again socially in the future and perhaps collaborate on some patients.

Astri and I then spent a nice Saturday afternoon touring an area of Shanghai with Tyrone Bristol, our CMO. We had a great time. On Saturday night we went by ourselves to a Sichuan Restaurant and out of 17 million people one of the ER doctors I know was placed at the next table.

See slide show (below): Restaurant overlooked the Bund (Emery,GM of Shanghai United and wife, Chen, Tyrone Bristol, Annalie Qu), Astri overlooking curious scene of bicycle accident where onlookers become jury for policeman judge regarding fault, two back alleys, one with many washbasins just off a very fancy main street.