Surgi Doll by Robert Windrum: fleece, polyester fabric, embroidery floss, synthetic stuffing

A Doll For Seven was created in memory of 10 year-old Seven Bridges, a young boy from Kentucky who committed suicide in January. He was bullied relentlessly at school because he had to have a colostomy bag. He was diagnosed with a bowel condition at birth that required him to undergo 26 different surgeries to try to fix the issue.

As someone with Crohn's Disease, who had an aunt who lived with a colostomy due to ulcerative colitis, I was moved by this tragic story. As Executive Director of Project Sunshine Canada I wish we could support every child and family facing these sorts of challenges; at the heart of our mission is the desire that they all know they are "Not Broken".

This "imperfect" Surgi Doll came to us from a well-meaning volunteer and was deemed unusable for distribution. I found the odd shape and the imperfections endearing and saved it for a couple years on my desk at work then in my home. The pink colour - which is now internationally recognized as the colour of anti-bullying - make it all the more perfect to carry the memory/tribute to a young boy whose tragic death says so much: no stigma around stoma, colostomy, ostomy, etc., no bullying, and support for families dealing with a child's medical crisis.