Myron Jackson, The Design Group CEO, always referred to himself as an ad man.
Now he says he’s a “cyborg ad man.”
Jackson had open-heart surgery, including placement of a mechanical valve, nearly eight weeks ago after suffering an aortic dissection — a tear in the main artery carrying blood from the heart. The rupture occurred on the anniversary of his mother’s death from a similar ailment, a poignant detail as he looks back.
“The heart itself kept on ticking, but the aorta ruptured due to an aneurysm, and I started to bleed out,” Jackson told Whispers. The valve was only part of the fix, said Jackson. “I needed a graft in another area, and a few additional corrections.”
Jackson, who founded The Design Group in 2007 with Telly Noel, another Black executive, is heading a statewide campaign urging African Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine. After nearly 15 years of 16-hour workdays, the health crisis has forced Jackson to learn how to delegate.
“Retirement isn’t in the picture yet, but I’ve learned to slow down. I’m healing up nicely, but slowly. It’s one day at a time, but I’m feeling better each day.”
One byproduct of the surgery was weight loss, said Jackson, who is 46. “My clothes don’t fit. It looks like I’m walking around in my big brother’s suits.”
His wife, Stephanie Jackson, who works at the agency and is also communications chief for Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., said it’s a small price to pay for keeping her husband around.
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