Blogging from Beijing!: Final Thoughts ...

As I sit back and reflect on my trip, there are so many thoughts that run through my head. Since returning home, I have had several people ask me if my little “medical detour” ruined my trip and the answer is absolutely not! I would not change a single thing about this trip – good or bad.

I originally thought that this trip was about going to the Olympics and being a part of sporting history. For me, it turned out to be so much more. While I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the Olympic events and closing ceremonies, the things that will stick in my mind and heart much longer are the people of Beijing. I feel so blessed to have gotten a glimpse of a part of the world that many people will never see. The Chinese people were so gracious and excited to show off their city ... from the Olympics volunteers, hotel staff, taxi drivers, store clerks, hospital staff and more! I will never forget the hysterical conversation with the doctor in the first hospital who spoke very little English. I was trying to explain to her the word “thyroid”. We worked so hard with hand gestures and limited words. When we finally had that “eureka” moment – it was so exciting! Our own victory! I will remember the volunteers who would gather around you to see what pins you had and wanted to trade. They all had a story to tell and it was so worth the time to stop and listen. Amazing young people! I will never forget the taxi driver who wanted so badly to talk to me that he persisted with Chinese and hand signals - trying to tell me something. I still have no idea what he was trying to tell me but we laughed and made hand gestures and when we parted it felt like we had made a connection. The stories just go on and on! You know – we really aren’t that different after all – just people – working hard, taking caring of our families and wanting to make that human connection.

This trip also really made me appreciate what a wonderful company Johnson & Johnson is and how fortunate I am to be a part of it. Very few companies offer the opportunity to compete for the trip of a lifetime. But more importantly, I was able to see first hand, how J&J takes care of its people. The level of medical care that was provided for me was first class! I was treated like a VIP and never felt like I was left on my own to deal with it. Not only did J&J make arrangements for us to have access to free medical care through International SOS, they also set up a temporary clinic right in our hotel staffed by three SOS doctors. (Thanks Dr. Joe, Dr. Peter and Dr. Erik!)

Well, I could just go on and on – but lucky for you, my blogging time is over! Although the Closing Ceremonies marked the end of the Olympics, the adventure was not over! We had extended our trip by several more days to make sure that we got to catch all the sights. Even with some additional trips to the clinic for monitoring, I found plenty of time to see some sights, eat some Peking duck and buy some pearls. What more could a girl ask for? I even had the opportunity to fly back from Beijing with the men’s beach volleyball gold medal winners (Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser) and chat with them in the business lounge in Chicago. What a perfect ending to a perfect trip!

Gold Medal Winners!

I will close with a few parting photos. Thanks for reading along! My advice to you would be, the next time you see a contest, take a chance and enter it. You just never know where it might lead!