After noon Friday the schedule called for the first hospital scene. Denise had done hospital scenes before but this was nothing like them. The cameras rolled as they moved her through admitting, an x-ray, the reading and the cast room. The cameras and action only stopped briefly to reposition and then continue. When they finished her cast she was given real instructions on use of crutches, on camera, of course and then they helped her dress and told she could go home. Some of these scenes would be used, some would be filler if they needed a few minutes more and others would never be seen again. Made for TV had to come out to the second in length.  The next scene was scheduled for Monday. Denise crutched out to the wardrobe. “Where do I go to have them take this off?”

“I was told you were to wear it over the weekend so we can begin shooting early on Monday. Don’t get it wet when you shower.”

She went home with a long leg cast on her right leg. The weekend was hell. She went to a party Saturday night and got terribly drunk. Sunday morning she was still drunk, hung over, sick to the stomach and had to pee. She couldn’t negotiate the crutches so she crawled to the bathroom. She puked into the trash can while peeing into the commode. She then had to crawl back to the bedroom for her crutches. Monday morning she arrived on time for shooting. The week went well. Several times Denise was able to suggest minor changes to a scene because of her off the set experience with being in the leg cast. By Friday at noon they were done with all the scenes. Denise asked where she could go to have the cast off. She was told it could come off on Monday afternoon if none of this week’s shoots were bad. They had Monday and Tuesday for retakes. After a brief argument with the studio manager Denise left for the weekend with the cast in place. She was no longer a prima dona who could call the shots. The manager smiled as she walked away.  He had won.  Deinse would be easier to work with in the future. It was like breaking a wild horse.

She spent the weekend laying around the pool with the cast. She thought about having a couple of drinks over the weekend but didn’t because she was afraid to get drunk with the cast. She knew if she started she couldn’t stop. Monday morning she was at the studio. The scenes with the cast were all good. They told her to go to the room where she was casted. The “doctor” who casted her leg on screen was waiting. A film crew recorded it, although it was not part of the script it may be useful if they needed twenty more seconds.. While he sawed off the cast he told her he played the doctor in many of the Fritz movies. He was referred to as the resident doctor. He was actually an actor that Fritz sent to a class on medical appliances. He did cast application and removals. When he finished with Denise he had the nurse massage her leg. While she was doing that Denise’s “sister” came in with her big belly.