Food glorious food - but beware

China is very much a developed country, with some caveats. Specifically, one should be cautious with foods. The following advice comes from my own experiences in China and Hong Kong:

One should expect packaged and bottled goods to be fine. I would avoid street vendors, but most established sit-down restaurants are fine. Also, delivered cooked foods are fine, but raw fruits and vegetables must be washed thoroughly. I would avoid the skins of most fruits. Salads are not widely served, perhaps for a reason.

Tap water is fine for gargling such as when you brush your teeth. However, I would only drink boiled water or bottled beverages. Beware of iced drinks since the ice cubes may be made from tap water.

There are some special rules for seafood. I would avoid uncooked shellfish and probably uncooked fish in general (i.e. sushi). Cooked seafood I would consume but in limited quantities.

End of my sermonizing.

Godzilla hasn't called the last two mornings so we've been able to sleep in a little more. Godzilla is our nickname for the construction machinery. We met son of Godzilla in the freight elevator the other day in the form of a rusted trolley. The screeching sound was spine tingling.

Today was a little different in the hospital. The morning routine includes Acupuncture and Physical Therapy. Dr. Lee suggested that instead of using a wheelchair within the hospital, I need to get up and use my walker. Morning PT was also delayed as I've developed a non-itchy rash. I hope I didn't upset the dermatologist when I failed to be in my room when she came by. I'll trek over there tomorrow (Friday) morning probably.

Lunch was interesting as Lily and I went to dim sum with several key Beike staff members, Dr. Hu, Jon, and Grace. We were originally to go with two other patients and their caregivers but due to a mix up, they had to cancel last minute.

The conversation over lunch focused on how to "get out the message" that stem cells are real and are available. I now have a sense why Beike has been successful in Canada, Italy, Romania and Hungary but not as widely represented (though by no means zero) in the rest of the world.