Local man's invention ready to hit world stage
When Ken N. built an electric lift to move his disabled brother from his bed to his wheelchair, he never thought his invention would soon be distributed worldwide. I didn't think anything of it until the Hospice nurses came in and saw it, and they had a fit over it," Ken said. "I had just figured it was something they already had out there." Ken created the lift after his brother Larry was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive neuromuscular disease that weakens and eventually destroys the motor abilities. Ken said he new how hard it was for his sister-in-law to lift his brother out of bed and into his wheelchair, then to the bathroom.
After some research and a few phone calls, Ken realized the type of lifts already on the market didn't provide enough help to the caregiver. "Now with this lift it takes virtually no effort to move him," Ken said. "What used to take her an hour takes her less than one minute." So as Larry enters the final stages of the disease, Hospice nurses are still using the lift that Ken named the "Larry Lift" to move Larry on a daily basis. We don't know how much longer he's gonna make it," Ken said. "But I told him I'm going to immortalize him with this thing." Ken recently received his patent for the electric lift and is working with Invention Technologies, Inc. to find an interested manufacturer to begin developing the product, especially for the medical products industry.
Ken started his own welding business that he called TKN Portable Welding. In his spare time, Ken also played in the country and the state playing his music. Recently, Ken retired from welding because of an injury and began construction on the "Larry Lift." "I want my brother to see that something is happening with this thing," Ken said. "I want him to know that his name will live on forever." Additional information about the "Larry Lift" can be obtained by contacting the publicity department of Invention Technologies, Inc. at (800) 940-9020, Ext. 2285 or at products@invent-tech.com.