TAMPA BAY WOMAN MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 2002

"Prop Up" Pillow Eases Pain of Acid Reflux
and Other Conditions
by Michelle Rego

Macarena Rose was only 33 when she thought she was having a heart attack. For the next year, the chest pains persisted, and even grew worse. Although doctors concluded that she did not have a heart attack, they were unable to determine what was causing her pain. Finally, she was diagnosed with gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is more commonly known as acid reflux.

The Saint Petersburg resident and single mother of two was given medication and told to change her diet, avoiding foods and beverages that irritate the esophageal lining, such as fried and fatty foods, alcohol, citrus fruits and drinks, and coffee. She was told to try to reduce lifestyle stress and to give up smoking. In addition, she was instructed to sleep on an incline, which, she says, “essentially meant sleeping in a chair, since lying down would make for even worse pain the next day.” Eventually the pain worsened, and she underwent a biopsy that revealed cancer of the esophagus.

Rose, now 38, then underwent fundoplication surgery, during which the stomach is actually wrapped around the esophagus in an effort to increase pressure in the lower esophagus, while taking pressure off the eroded upper part of the esophagus. Although the surgery eliminated the cancer, her pain continued, this time worse than before, and it began to seriously disrupt her sleep at night, when acid reflux is usually at it’s worst, due to the victim lying flat in bed. Because she needed to sleep on an incline, Rose began searching the Internet for products that would allow her to sleep on an incline in her own bed. Nothing worked. So, with the help of her business partner, Erin Koogle, Rose developed a pillow that would be wide enough to support her arms, neck and back, and that would elevate her to the correct inclination. Thus was born her invention, the “Prop Up Pillow.”

The pillow is wedge-shaped and made of a “memory foam” that conforms to the body. The pillow includes adjustable lumbar and cervical cushions that make it accessible for all sizes of people. More than simply a support pillow, the Prop Up Pillow gently elevates the back while supporting the neck and the arms. Rose markets the pillow to acid reflux patients, but has found the pillow to be popular with chronic neck/back pain sufferers, as well as those suffering from insomnia, fibromyalga, or who have had recent surgery. Rose took a prototype of the pillow to a patent lawyer, and was granted a patent in just three months, something short of miraculous, considering that few hopeful inventors ever receive a patent. In fact, it’s the calculated angle and design of the Prop Up Pillow and it’s use of the memory foam that gives it an edge over existing products, and made the patent process short. In addition, many doctors have endorsed the pillow, including Rose’s own gastroenterologist, Doctor Tejinder Glamour, who has recommended its use to many of his patients.

Although she was sure about the Prop Up Pillow’s design and its marketability, Rose had trouble getting assistance in setting up her now successful business. “My own doctor didn’t take me seriously at first, and neither did my lawyer, but they saw my determination,” she states. After many unsuccessful attempts to find a fabricator who would supply her with pillow materials, Rose managed to find a partner in a company called Tampa Tech Aero foam, and Rose now collaborates with them in the creation of the memory foam needed for the pillows. In addition, she found a worthy collaborator in the Pinellas Association for Retarded Children (PARC), where she has the pillows assembled. After selling her first pillow two years ago, Rose has sold well over 800 pillows, and is now marketing the pillow and other related products on a web page she designed on her own, even though she had no experience in web design.

The Prop Up Pillow has been featured in Tampa Bay Magazine and the St. Petersburg Times. Rose has considered extending her marketing beyond her website, but has chosen not to do so for the time being, in order to keep the Prop Up Pillow affordable.

“Whatever money I make now I have to use to pay for my health insurance,” she jokes, “My primary hope is to help others.” Priced at $168.00 plus shipping and handling, the pillow can be ordered on Rose’s website, www.propuppillow.com.

By using the Prop Up Pillow, and following her doctor’s advice, Rose is almost completely pain-free as well as free of the expensive medication she took for 5 years. Her advice to others is simple: “Take your health seriously by changing your lifestyle and getting education about your body.”

Information about the Prop Up Pillow may be obtained by email at propuppillow@arjmedical.com.