I got an MRI on Monday and spoke to a sports medicine specialist on Thursday. He said that all of the the ligaments are fine, but the lateral meniscus is torn badly and will need surgery. As he explained the meniscus has ripped in such a way that the outside edge gets displaced when I make a twisting motion with the knee (hence the initial pain and swelling). There is still some extra fluid in there, but most of the swelling has gone down. Most of the pain is gone now, and I can walk (carefully) but will not be able to dance for a while. The surgery is relatively minor, and won't leave much scaring. It will take a couple of months to heal and I will need to do everything I can to protect the joint, but it shouldn't hinder my dancing in the future. After much research and deliberation I have decided to return to California for the operation. That way my family can take care of me during recovery. SF general hospital has a program that allows uninsured residents to receive treatment on a sliding scale, and I should be able to get very good rehab there. So, I am doing my best to wrap up everything here and make arrangements to go home. I plan to fly out of Lithuania next week, spend a couple of days in NYC and then on to San Francisco. The sooner I get all this taken care of, the sooner I will be dancing again. :) Of course I am sad to have to cut short my stay here. I would have liked to be able to continue performing with Aura (at least through the festival in Oct), and I feel really bad about forcing Slava to cancel his premiere. But such is life. At least now I will have a chance to see my NYC friends again soon, and spend some time with my family for the holidays. :) I've missed you all so much, it will be wonderful to see you again!!! -Claire