"You can use your imagination," Latifah adds, "as to what a person would need to do for you when you can't do almost anything for yourself that requires movement. So they have a really close relationship. It's important from a technical side, but also from the human side of it. It's hard for someone who wants to be alone but can't be. So we played the relationship as comfortable, as though we were both used to the situation."

A paralyzed body cannot support itself or any weight, so Washington was always propped up by the bed and pillows. Jacqueline St-Pierre Wong, a private care nurse who has worked with five quadriplegic patients over the past eight years, served as a consultant. She worked with Latifah to dispense realistic nursing care, and helped position Washington in a believable, accurate manner. In propping him up in the high-tech bed which was programmed to move every 10 minutes, they also ensured that there were no pressure points anywhere on his body. This is a preventative measure because quadriplegics are susceptible to bed sores and other problems which they cannot feel developing.

2 of 2