Before he was out of diapers, Waterbury Spirit shortstop Kiko Reyes had his first baseball uniform and bat. From the time he was a kid, all he dreamed of was playing professional ball.

Reyes was eager to play during the Waterbury Spirits' third game of the season May 28 against Elmira. But something went wrong in the field that day. Reyes, a fan favorite, recalls his foot getting caught in the dirt. His foot turned one way; his leg went the other and his anklebone snapped.

"I knew right away that I broke it," he said. "At first I felt excruciating pain, and then it went numb."

William Flynn, MD, an attending orthopaedic surgeon at Waterbury Hospital, operated on Reyes, repairing his ankle using plates and screws.

But if Reyes' ankle were to heal without assistance, he would be sidelined for the rest of the season. That was a heart-breaker fir Reyes because he had already accepted a full-time coaching job at Lehman College in the Bronx. This was to be his last season of play.

Fortunately, Dr. Flynn was familiar with a new device called Exogen 2000, which helps heal fractures more quickly. Reyes held the ultrasonic, pager-sized device against his ankle for 20 minutes a day.

The device is especially appealing to athletes, but can benefit anyone, said Dr. Flynn. The new technology can shave four to six weeks off normal recovery time for a bone to heal. "Even under the best of circumstances it can seem to take forever for a broken bone to heal," said Dr. Flynn. "This device gives Mother Nature a little boost, and in the case of a professional athlete, it can make or break a season, or even a career," added Dr. Flynn.