Glamour and Grit
Photo by Brian L. King
A G-tube saved her life. Now this model is on a mission to have medical devices seen – and celebrated – in fashion.
Nine years ago, a simple meal changed the course of NaKeysha King’s story. The professional cook, beauty artist and fashion model was visiting family when a piece of contaminated haddock left her with a severe bacterial and parasitic infection, damaging her gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Within weeks, NaKeysha had lost the ability to properly swallow food and started losing weight. Three years later, things were looking dire.
“I weighed only 83lbs (38kg) at the time,” she tells The Blend from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I wanted a feeding tube because I knew I needed it to save my life – and time was of the essence.”
In 2019, a few days after her 41st birthday, NaKeysha received her gastrostomy (G) tube – a device she now lovingly calls “NuNu”, for “nourish and nutrition”. While NaKeysha can eat small quantities of food orally, her G-tube is her primary source of nutrition. Kate Farms’ range of plant-based formulas are her sustenance of choice.
“I’ve had my feeding tube for six years now,” she says. “What we thought would only be temporary has become permanent, but I’m eternally grateful – because it is saving my life.”
Before her health took a turn, Maryland-born NaKeysha was building her modelling portfolio. Her first job was in 2007, when she posed for the cover of a book by author, actor and photographer Brian L. King, her now husband of 17 years. She’s since featured in a glittering array of fashion shoots, walked catwalks and graced the pages of magazines.
Photo by Merson Narcisse
When asked what impact her GI challenges have had on her modelling career, NaKeysha shares that for her first five years of tube-feeding, “it stopped me dead in my tracks”.
“It was very hard to do my feeds while I was modelling, because everything is very fast-paced,” says NaKeysha.
“It takes a lot to be a model, so to become disabled on top of that makes it that much harder. Modelling is a very fast-paced career – you either keep up or you get run over. Once I became disabled, ‘fast’ no longer existed. Everything became slow motion. Everything had to be calculated and planned to a tee, just to get through the day.”
NaKeysha persisted and, in time, adapted to keep the pace required by her work. “Think of it like trying to eat while running or jumping – you can’t,” she says. “But now, it’s just a part of who I am.”
In recent years, NaKeysha’s G-tube has made its way into some of her fashion shoots – a very deliberate choice to raise awareness.
“And to show that, despite now having a medical device, I still can be a part of the modelling industry,” she says.
“When I first became ill I thought, wow, now my dream of being a model is over. I started to feel angry, defeated and sad because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me being published or on runways.”
Photo by Brian L. King
While NaKeysha works hard to see the disabled talent better represented in her industry, she sings the praises of a friend, Kelly Melerine, whose autistic son inspired her to create a runway project called Inclusion Fest I’M POSSIBLE.
“Here, models from all walks of life with disabilities can shine,” says NaKeysha. “It creates a space where everyone is included.”
Community has been crucial for NaKeysha. While preparing for her G-tube placement, she began a friendship with Stephanie, a woman in the UK who tube-feeds. She also connected with Robert Selby whose son, Chase, has been tube-feeding since he was a baby (you can read their story in Issue Three of The Blend).
“I educated myself and started meeting some incredibly gifted people along the way, who I now share special connections with,” says NaKeysha. “Because of them, I was no longer afraid to get the surgery for the medical device. I knew it would save my life. I knew it was going to be a very long hard road, but I was ready.”
Six years later, while she doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges – “the infections, the tube changes and, sometimes, hospitalisations” – NaKeysha is overwhelmingly upbeat about her feeding tube. “Without NuNu, I don’t thrive. Now? I’m Wonder Woman! I can eat and sleep at the same time!”
Photo by Brian L. King
Her advice for those who are approaching tube-feeding is “first and foremost, prepare yourself mentally”.
“Do your research, educate yourself and try to connect with people who already have one before you receive yours,” she says.
“The first three years after receiving my tube was incredibly hard and I had a lot of hospitalisations. I’m eternally grateful for my medical and home team, but most of all for the love of my life, my husband, who never left my side. Without God, and him, I would not still be standing.
“His unconditional love, dedication and endless support gave me the strength to carry on when my body was completely failing me. He symbolises the true meaning of our vows, in sickness and in health. His love saved me.”