COUPLE INVENT UNIQUE STAND FOR FEEDING TUBE

A small embroidered pillow reading "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be" sits neatly on a flowered couch in Mark and Tina Jackson's home.

The sentiment is one that the Louisa couple takes to heart. Since they were married six years ago, the couple have worked together to overcome obstacles that would discourage most people.

Tina Jackson, 48, was born with cerebral palsy. After graduating with two college degrees, a stroke left her unable to speak and left her relying on a peg, or feeding, tube.

Mark Jackson, 40 and a former high-school athlete, was seriously injured in a
motorcycle accident in 1980 which left him comatose and in the hospital for six
weeks. He suffered permanent brain damage that affected his speech and limited his mobility.

Although disabled, Mark Jackson wanted to make a device that gave his wife more independence in feeding herself. After four or five attempts, he came up with the peg tube stand, as he calls it. It is a portable device that holds a feeding tube used to deliver food products and oral medications to those unable to swallow. Traditionally, the tubes have been held on IV poles, which aren't very portable.

"From the market research we've done, there are no other products exactly like it," he explained.

Jackson Peg Tube Stands, LLC was recently formed and is now working with the University of Kentucky Center for Manufacturing to improve upon the product's design.
The wooden design, with a patent pending, will be will be replaced with a plastic one and will be manufactured for adults as well as infants and children, according to the Jacksons' plans.

Tina Jackson, through a talking computer, said, "This (invention) has given us a common goal to work on."

The Jacksons say they are excited about the possibility of marketing their invention, but are more excited about the impact it will have on those who rely on feeding tubes. There are approximately 176,000 people in the U.S. who have feeding tubes. As baby-boomers get older, that number is expected to increase. "If we
make any money, it will be small potatoes," Mark Jackson said. "But, if we can help 5 percent of the people
on tubes; it will be worth it."

Already, his wife says the stand has improved her quality of life. "I don't have to rely on someone else to feed me," she said.

Besides marketing their invention, the couple served as co-chairs for the Appalachian Bike Tour at Yatesville Lake. The event is special to both of them, they say, because they met there.

Tina Jackson is also helping write and research the history of First Baptist Church, where she is a member.