I knew as soon as the airline agent said, "Oh, so sorry" that I was in trouble. I was scheduled to leave Beijing today but the gods had a different idea. My flight got cancelled so instead of doing my last blog entry at the airport, I'm now doing it from a hotel room. So the last week was very busy. We saw Olympians, past Olympians and I even had the opportunity to treat the Secretary General of the World Olympians Assocation as well as the International Olympic Committee Member from Peru. He was so happy that he said he was going to work hard for us to have us more involved within the IOC Polyclinic. Below are pics...

IOC Member Ivan Dibos and his wife.

WOA Secretary General Tony Legard and his wife.

We also had some fun with an ESPN cameraman who we treated...

We then had the opportunity to see Michael Phelps give his interviews at the Reunion Center after winning his record setting gold medal!

Had a day off and went to beach volleball and Summer Palace

Our patient, and Chilean decathlete Gonzalo. He was treated for a variety of conditions and even referred in one of his track teammates.

The "Cube" (with 7 star hotel in background and yes that's a big screen in the middle of it) and the birdnest...Amazing structure. Track and field pics below.

So, I thought I would end this blog with a top ten list...so here goes...TOP TEN THINGS THAT I EXPERIENCED IN BEIJING

10. Treating Olympians and Alumni

9 . Hanging out with a great group of doctors and athletes

8. Hearing the National Anthem at the Birdsnest after the American won the Decathlon

7. Seeing the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Summer Palace

6. Surviving the cab rides -although I still have one left

5. Getting on Chinese TV while hanging out with the Australian Bronze medal winning Hockey team. (I actually have a picture of me wearing the bronze with one of the guys, but my camera isn't with me but I'll add to post later

4. Having the Chinese take pictures of me and a friend because they thought WE were athletes...go figure...Imagine walking down the street and 15 folks surround you asking for a picture...I wish I had a picture of that picture...

3. Shopping at the Silk Market...Best negotiations of my life!

2. Getting by knowing 3 words in Mandarin...hi, thank you and your welcome.

1. Meeting the Chinese People. They were extremely nice and hospitable

One of the most exciting things happening today was that two of our doctors got interviewed by NBC4 back home! Check out the blog entry below for date and time...very exciting!!!

So, it's been over a week since I've updated. It's been so busy and days and nights run together. Days are filled with being a doctor and nights have been filled with events either inside the World Olympians Association Reunion Center or outside. To the right is a picture of our team from the first and second shift which had overlap. Also pictured is the Medical Director for the Phillipines, who is a DC. He's with me in the back row. All great folks and lots of fun - excellent doctors

A few nights ago, we had dinner with the International Scout for the Los Angeles Lakers. Great guy and lots of insight into the sport and the players.

So, the last time I updated, the next day was going to be my first day off and I was going to the Great Wall...it was unbelievable. I went with my friend Dr. Angela Salcedo, the President of the International Sports Chiropractic Association. We took a tram part of the way up, then hiked up the rest of the way, then went to the very edge and then got brushed by lightening, caught in a thunderstorm and then took a zip line down about a quarter of a mile...just amazing...see pics video below...some of these pics were taken along the way and are self explanatory!

Yeah, when nature calls, you use what you got...Note the beer bottle with the candle in it (no clue)...Also of note is this doubles as a shower!

Here is our tour guide David, great guy. He showed us the route and then we were off

SSR of the Great Wall - Representin'

I think he likes me

We went all the way to the edge. After that chain, it's considered too dangerous to climb. The pictures don't do it justice...

They serve BEER here at the top of the Great Wall?!?!?! I might just cop a squat, hang my legs off the Great Wall and have myself a cold one...I think I've earned it!

Incredible structure that goes for thousands of miles...but then the adventure truly began...a storm in the distance turned into a lighting bolt right over our heads. I literally felt the charge when I was taking this picture (I thought a big bird flew over my head!) and as soon as we realized what had happened we ran for cover...check out the video below...

We then climbed down in the thunderstorm to the first tower and took a zip line to the bottom...See the small peninsula on this side of the lake? That's where the zip line started...it went all the way across to where that bridge is...

After our meal, our guide David took us to an authentic Chinese restaurant in a tiny village...it was crazy good

"What r you lookin at? You lookin at me? You already had lunch!"

A great day and one I'll never forget...more Olympian News for my next post

Sport and Spine to be featured on NBC-4

Sport and Spine Rehab doctors Dr. Riccardo Tersigni and Dr. Barton Bishop will be featured on NBC-4's Health Spotlight with Doreen Gentzler. Dr. Tersigni's story on the Graston Technique will be highlighted on the 11PM news on Monday, September 8th. The date for Dr. Bishop's story on Kinesio-tape will be announced shortly!

Hi to all three of you who are reading this blog!
I can't believe it's been a week since I've updated this thing. Time is a continuum at this point that I'm not able to keep track of. Again, pictures say a thousand words so check this...this is right outside my hotel...did you say Communism? The Colonel don't think so...

So needless to say, it's been a little hectic since my last post. The Chiropractic Sports Clinic has been moved to a two level suite because of weather and logistical issues. The new location has been great. We have a manual therapy center on the second level and a full rehab area on the first level. Moving all the equipment was a big event, but we got it done and since then, we've been able to treat current Olympic athletes from Chile to Somalia. This really is why we're here...There is no team Chiropractor for these athletes and it's an honor to take care of individuals who inspire the Olympic dream. I'm fortunate to work with a great team. Above is a picture of the International Sports Chiropractic Association Board President, Dr. Angela Salcedo and Dr. Todd Reiter, DC, MD at our complex.

The other day, Dr. Salcedo and I were in the Olympic Village making our rounds. Security was VERY tight due to Scandanavian dudes wearing weird gear.

It was great to hang out with many of the elite athletes, including Olympic Sprinter, Kim Collins.

We had a chance to say hello to the IOC Medical Director and then we were able to do our rounds at the Polyclinic for the athletes.

We were able to meet the Olympic Polyclinic Physiotherapists from Hong Kong and they were incredible. So nice and willing to share what facilities they have and what they do to take care of the athletes. They also introduced me to the Doctor of Massage in the Polyclinic and you know, I was all over that!
What was great about this experience was the openness of communication. There were no "territorial" boundries. They wanted to share their facilities with us and they asked us (and we did) to provide a demonstration of high velocity, low amplitude manipulate therapy techniques. It was a great opportunity to share ideas and techniques...Wonderful people...

The Olympic Village is incredible. It's literally a small city and the Chinese have performed admirably to honor to the Olympic tradition. The Greeks certainly let folks know their presence as they should!

You see groups of teams everywhere. As soon as I saw this group, I said to myself, I need to have this picture for my friend Bart's wife, who is Russian...Here's your team Alla!

The next picture is really what the Olympics is all about. Yes, competition is at the forefront, but behind the scenes it's really about human nature and fun!

It was great to see good friends from around the globe. We had a chance to meet up with our good friend Dr. Plinio from Brazil.

Ok, so it was a long day at the Village...on the way home I had an opportunity to take pictures out my cab window. This is the market where they have the fried scorpions and boiled lamb testicles. I haven't had any time to sightsee, except out of my cab windows (and I've been taking LOTS of cab rides - video footage coming soon. Trust me, if you think this blog is lame, just wait until I upload videos of Chinese cab drivers. They make NYC cabbies look like Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy and you'll instantly have some entertainment value from this blog....stay tuned). Anyway, I'll get some real time pics of this market soon.

Speaking of food markets, these little fellas should hide!

Uh...I'm sorry, what? Who stuck the Paddy Wagon on the back of the moped? Is that my fraternity pledge master, Brother Bluto, getting arrested again?

So, this is just a glimpse of what's been happening half way across the globe...some of the other memorable moments are the things that remind me of home and keep me connected...the hidden cards I recieve from my girlfriend Courtney; the texts I recieve from, Larry, one of my best friends who asks me the same stupid questions each day - "Did you win the gold medal for Chiropractic yet?"...a phone call from another of my best friends Stuart who calls me out of the blue from NYC to place an order of Hot and Sour Soup, Peking Duck and Moo Goo Gai Pan; the emails from my sister and many other friends who either know or found out I'm half way across the planet and they have taken the time to connect with me (What up Wags?)... I'm fortunate to have great family and great friends at home and a great team of doctors here in Beijing who share the same passion for having an positive impact on the patients we care for. Tomorrow...My first day off in a while...The Great Wall...stay tuned

Last night was fun ...a great opening event for the ORC (Olympic Reunion Center).

Lots of cultural entertainment! Dick Fosbury (of the Famed "Fosbury Flop"), President of the World Olympians Association also spoke. He's a really nice guy...had a chance to have Pizza with him on Wednesday!

Also, lots of press on hand...Met some folks from NBC and told them about our clinic so they could come by and get some treatment if they needed (and hopefully do a few interviews!)

Met lots of folks (Bob Beamon who shattered the long jump world record at the '68 Olympics-stood for 23 years-nice guy; Met "Willie" (pic below) the head of the Olympic Committee for the Dominican Republic; as well as a few other Olympic Committee Chiefs) all of whom are looking to get care for their athletes and/or themselves. Getting the word out about access to services was my main job last night.

Also, three of the team docs arrived (I'm pictured with Dr. Phil Yoo - middle from Seoul, Korea; and Dr. Thien Dang Tan, who had a practice right down the street from me in Rockville, Maryland, but then moved to Toronto) and it was great to hang out with them. I took lots of pics and that's more interesting than what I have to write so just enjoy...

"Everybody was Kung Fu Fightin'...those cats were fast as lightenin'..."

PS-apparently someone in China also loves NYC!