Emails from China (read previous article doc 2/2003)
HI: Rich
How are you doing now? How is your heart doing?
Eat carefully, dont drink any soda.
About SARS, We've gotten more people infected in Beijing, we rarely go out now.
xxxx
Hi: Rich
How are you doing? how is your chest? haven't hear from your for a while, still concern about your health. I guess I got tracheitis, I am still coughing. Purplesnow got diarrhea for a week when she left us, but she is fine now, she is with her sister rightnow. don't drank too much coke, I know you like that.
xxxx
Hi: rich
How are you doing? How are your lungs feeling?I hope you"ve got your strength back now. I guess you are still in Tailand, right? Have you heared about SARS? the new disease which scared a lot of people all over the world, I am still coughing, so I got chance to have that thing now, woo, that is scary, hahha.
xxxx
HI: Rich
How are you doing? feeling better?
Damn, the SARS is going like crazy, killing people everyday, and it's growing. I have bad feeling about it, you gotta be careful, prepare everything to deal with it.
Xingwei called me from France, although he didn't understand what they were talking about on TV, but he can tell it's all about SARS. He worries about your health, ask me to tell you to be careful, don't go anywhere.
I got fever, that make my whole family nervous. I hope I will get rid of it tomorrow morning.
TAke care yourself, take care
xxxx
I made it back to the US. What a trip.
The SARS thing is far more extensive in Beijing according to present day news reports than what the Chinese are saying. I mentioned it a month and a half ago when I was there back when this SARS stuff was supposedly only in Hanoi and Hong Kong. In my opinion some sort of viral illness was widespread back in early March in Beijing. I saw respiratory illness everywhere I went. Hell I got really sick unlike any pneumonia bronchitic illness Ive ever had. My little Beijing honey caught it and got horribly sick within a few hours after me some of my Beijing friends got sick after that to varying degrees. We all got better but one thing is certain.
Its far more widespread than what China is saying. Typical.
It was fun in Thailand despite the fact that I battled the residual pneumonia there and then came down with a nasty gastrointestinal virak esophagitis gastritis but Im finally feeling better. Hell cant think of a better place to be than on the beach in Thailand sick or not. But its good to be back in the US. The SARS fear factor in Asia had reached new incredible proportions with immediate quarantines and enforced house arrest. People stayed to themselves and certainly did not congregate to any degree in any enclosed public places. It was a bit bizarre experiencing all of that.
Im not surprised this all happened. If you look at how some of the Chinese live in close proximity to their chickens and other animals and if you evaluate their incredibly poor sanitation practices its not surprising that viruses can transmutate across species lines under those conditions. If you cook and clean and drink the same water that you and your animals shit in well its gonna get you. Theres a huge lesson to be learned from all of this; unfortunately it takes disasters such as these to change public policy. China is a wonderful country and I do love going there but it does have a way to go.
(After my arrival in the US, I underwent testing with my physicians in Las Vegas. I diagnosis of a previous SARS infection was confirmed).