Roadblock or Freedom?

Last night I settled in to do my evening Exogen ultrasound bone healing treatment, the same as every evening for the last 172 consecutive days. Right after I turned the device on and it cycled through the opening screens, it beeped at me and gave me a warning message – No Remaining Treatments. What? Now What? This launched me into a whirlwind of thoughts, bookended by the question of “is this a roadblock or freedom?”

343 Treatments

Right after seeing that message, I texted Erin, my Exogen rep, to find out what that message means. 172 days straight, twice a day for 20 mins each, 343 treatments – had I come to the end of it? Is there such a thing as being done? Had I gone past the limits of what should be done with the device and entered into no man’s land? Was it like finishing the internet? Was this a roadblock in my treatment? I’ve come to enjoy the twice a day 20 min timeouts, a chance to regroup, close my door, breathe/read/drink some tea/whatever.

Or, was I now at a turning point where it is time to be free from it and move forward? Is there much point in continuing on for so long? Are there diminishing benefits after a certain point? Maybe I’d now be free from it! 40 minutes of each day, all mine, free to be untethered – what an interesting and sudden thought!

A Lot of New

I’ve spent the last two weeks working through setting up one child at college, one at her farm school and our second home, and getting one started on a whole new homeschooling plan. I’ve also set up my own new schedule that takes into account all of the above, plus my new workouts, new meal plan, and our new life as a family living in two places at once.

That’s a lot of new!

The daily Exogen treatments have been one of my daily anchors, something I built my new daily schedule around. Was this about to go away?

Other Plans

Since I decided to skip surgery and wait for the bones to heal, we had scheduled a PRP injection to stimulate more healing. That was going to happen in a few days, but last week we decided to cancel it. There are several reasons why, but the main one is that things are on a good path. I’m feeling decent, able to do my workouts, minimal pain – why mess with it? Plus, a giant needle in the hoohah with no anesthesia is really un fun.

Maybe my Exogen was jumping on the bandwagon of letting things be? Loosen the grip on the daily intensity and laser focus on healing? Go be free, set it aside and let nature do its thing? We are 7 months post-op…maybe?

This was my mental whirlwind as I waited to hear back from Erin. A mixed bag of thoughts and sudden shifts in hopes.

Three Minutes Later…

Rockstar Erin replied right away. Yes, all of those thoughts above occurred during three minutes.

It turns out that it is an FDA controlled device and therefore limited as far as treatment length, like a prescription. My device needs to go in for a refresh, a refill of the prescription. Simple as that.

I also learned that it works throughout the entire healing process of bone, so all stages not just the beginning. In many of their nonunion studies, the fractures were any where from 6 months to 13 years old. Patients used the device over 8 months and healed.

OK then!

Into the mail it will go, and I’ll get a short break from it before beginning anew. Ultimately, it is a temporary roadblock that is giving me a vacation, a taste of freedom. It was an interesting moment that caused me to take stock of my feelings and try on something else new, paralleling all of my other pieces of new.

Roadblock or freedom?

A little of both!

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