Kaycie Jackson spent months unable to bathe her own twins because she could not walk. Today, the Henry County mother of three is walking, side-stepping, and even tossing a ball while on her feet, using a robotic support system found nowhere else in Kentucky.
Jackson's ordeal began in 2024, when she was told she had two tumors on her spine, according to WLKY. She underwent surgery to remove the tumors, but the operation left her wheelchair bound, and she initially struggled to move her legs without assistance. At home, she relied on a wheelchair and a Hoyer lift just to get through the day, the station reports.
Jackson is now cancer-free, but rebuilding her body meant starting her rehabilitation journey at Frazier Rehab, part of UofL Health in downtown Louisville. There, she began working with the ZeroG 3D Body Weight Support System, a harness-based device that provides varying levels of support while allowing patients 360 degrees of movement, according to manufacturer Aretech LLC, which introduced the system on March 8, 2023.
A Machine Unique to the State
Per the station's report, the ZeroG 3D equipment Jackson uses is the only machine of its kind in Kentucky and is available to all patients at Frazier Rehab. Lindsay Nalley, a UofL Health physical therapist, said the system enables creative challenges in a safe environment, giving therapists room to design exercises that would be too risky without the overhead support catching a patient's balance.
The Sterling, Virginia-based manufacturer designed the system to allow non-linear, multi-directional gait and balance training across workspaces up to 500 square feet without fall risk, per Aretech. In February, Aretech released an add-on called Arcade 3D, an interactive software suite that layers gamified balance and cognitive challenges onto the harness system, as detailed by ACCESS Newswire.
Small Wins Add Up
Jackson has described the process as one small win pushing her to keep going, according to the same account from WLKY. She has said she is slowly getting her life back, milestone by milestone, including driving her children for the first time since her surgery. Jackson has said the experience taught her never to take anything for granted.
Frazier Rehab's investment in the technology fits into a broader expansion. UofL Health opened a new Center for Advanced NeuroRehab Assistive Technology Lab and Spinal Cord Injury Program space at its downtown Louisville facility in April, unifying clinical expertise and assistive technology under one roof, according to a UofL Health announcement. Frazier Rehab is also one of just 14 Spinal Cord Injury Model System centers designated nationwide by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, according to the Model Spinal Cord Injury System Center designation.
A Long Drive for Specialized Care
Jackson lives in Henry County, northeast of downtown Louisville, meaning a commute of about an hour each way for the specialized therapy, according to the Kentucky Department of Transportation. For rural patients like her, that drive underscores how facilities such as Frazier Rehab function as regional lifelines for people who don't live near a major metro medical center.
The tumors that upended Jackson's life are part of a rare category of cancer. Malignant brain and spinal cord tumors account for an estimated 24,740 new diagnoses nationwide this year. Rehabilitation can improve function and reduce depression.
Frazier Rehab's ZeroG 3D installation follows similar rollouts elsewhere in the country. Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore became the first facility in the world to deploy the system in October 2023, and Bethany Children's Health Center in Oklahoma became the second worldwide and the only installation at a pediatric hospital as of December 1, 2023, according to Bethany Children's Health Center. For Jackson, the technology is part of her rehabilitation as she works to regain mobility.
