It was cool to have a preemie. The March of Dimes had partnered to make the doll and have some of the proceeds for research. Well all these years later, I'm the mother of 2 preemies and 2 angel preemies and I see one in an "antique shop" in Maryland while shopping with my mother in law. I had to duck out of site for a moment, because I immediately felt 100% sick to my stomach.
There she was, all packaged up like the fad toy that she was in her prime. Never touched, perfectly the same. That's how I feel about my own kids who are not with me anymore and my stomach turned sour. My mind had changed on the little doll that once I thought was cute.
Did we think about those dolls differently - did it make an impact??? Was this an opportunity to raise awareness? Were the parents using it as an awareness tool? Not that I know.
So how the hell is Barbie - the nemesis of reality - supposed to help young girls? She's a woman! She's not even a child that they can relate to! You want to teach your kids about cancer?? Read them Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand. Proceeds GO to research. If this thing comes to fruition, I hope that Bald Barbie won't cause some mother to cry in an antique shop some 30 years later. I hope she is a reminder of how we changed young girls' minds about awareness. I hope. Mattel has yet to comment and I hope it's because they are taking the same amount of time to think about the impact.
I sent the picture of Patch to my fellow preemie friend and have since deleted it. So here you go - this is a preemie. I'm not one to be overly sensitive or outspoken on much... but Bald Barbie, you're causing me to lose sleep. Ergggggggg
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| Actual Preemie |
It's not a silly thing. It's not just a doll. It took an experience to realize that.
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