Good-bye and good riddance

Bone growth stimulator

In March, my physiatrist prescribed a bone growth stimulator to help my broken pelvis recover better and faster. As I shared then, this is a medical device that could only be used once a day for 30 minutes; once I started using it on day 1, I had exactly 269 treatments left. At the end of the full 270 days, the device would turn into a piece of expensive inert trash.

On December 7, the device pulled it's version of Cinderella and is now dead. And I’m pleased to say I used that thing faithfully all but one day I was at home (we got home really late and I just said no). I even used it on the day I had the lumpectomy. The rest of the days I missed, I was traveling. The device can’t be put through any sort of TSA screening so thankfully I didn’t have to try to take it with me on those trips.

Altogether, I completed 243 of 270 treatments. And while I got really sick of using it (seriously, you cannot do anything other than stand or walk around awkwardly while wearing it), I hope my broken bone got the full benefit.

Living in a cage

OK it’s not really a cage. Just a partial cage. An expensive partial cage.

This is a bone growth stimulator, which my physiatrist prescribed in January. Getting the prescription through the insurance review and approval process took six weeks. And it’s not cheap either: $4500, of which I’ll owe about $1000.

Since it’s a prescription device, it’s got all sorts of very specific parameters. I can use it just once a day for 30 minutes at a time, and it should be used about the same time every day. As you can see from the photo, I can't sit down while using it. So I stand around awkwardly or try to do stuff that doesn't require bending over. I'm holding the controls, which don't really fit into most pockets. So that adds to the awkwardness of standing.

The device resets at 10 PM Central and flat won’t let me double up doses in one day. It’s also metered and has 270 doses. Once I started using it, the clock started. When I hit the 270th day, that’s it, the device becomes nothing more than weird looking trash. It also can’t be recycled, which bothers me a lot.

It also can’t go through an x-ray machine which means if I’m still using this when I head to Idaho for our family reunion, I can’t take it with me.