DAY TWENTY Oct. 6

Sure enough, I felt like I was hit by a bus this morning. The xrays came back inconclusive. One Dr. saw a small fracture in my collarbone, the other didn't. Minor either way. I hope it heals enough by Monday, when I have to curl up into a tight ball for another injection.

Sally's making a trip to McDonald's for lunch. New patients include Katherine from SF, who brought son Lucas, a Hungarian woman making her third trip, and another Romanian family.

Deb and her Mom (and my iPod) will return Sunday.

I have to admit, these two days without rehab are completely boring, allowing some homesickness to creep in, along with some depression. I feel the pressure of a lot of people hoping I do well. I've got ten more days here to try. I guess having my feet back is pretty major, and I should be thankful. My thighs were cold this morning so maybe in a few days balance will improve.

Sally won't let me take a shower by myself anymore, after the fall, so she made me sit on the toilet, while she washed me down, like a pet. Pretty humiliating, but I musn't fall anymore. At least at home the bathroom is equipped with plenty of grab bars. And I use 'em. The Drs. prescribed some more myserious medicine in capsule form, and it appears to be helping. They also jabbered about the bathroom-shower, so I expect some grab bars will appear soon; hopefully before I leave. They constantly upgrade these rooms.

The DVD "movies" here are all pirated--badly. Some guy sits in the back of the theatre, with a camcorder. The result is a dark picture, lousy sound, skips and dropouts, and silhouettes moving across the screen. A lot of people walked out on Ultraviolet. I don't blame them. We'd buy first quality, if we knew where to look. The remotes are all in inscrutable Chinese. Nevertheless, it's all there is. so we keep watching them.