Chemo baby

I am leaving for Indiana tomorrow with Aunt Janny. Aunt Becky's surgery is on Monday. I have been packing, and I found our family's chemo baby. A chemo baby is a type of baby doll for chemo patients to snuggle while they're getting a chemo infusion and when they're sick afterward. Typically, a chemo baby is supposed to be passed between chemo patients as a way to connect them and to pass on courage and strength. Sadly, since so many of our family have had cancer, we actually have a chemo baby that stays around.

I can't remember exactly where the chemo baby came from but if I remember correctly, she was made by a woman's group at a local church. She's very soft and snuggly, perfect for hugging and squeezing during needle sticks, chemo infusions, and the recovery period afterward. Her face is very generic, with a smile and bright eyes with long eyelashes stitched above them, and she is dressed in a pink onesy with feet and a bonnet. She's very long, about length of a pillow, which is perfect since she's supposed to be the perfect size for providing comfort. Attached to one of her feet is a guardian angel medallion.

Aunt Polly was the first to have the chemo baby, and I believe she was a gift from a woman of the group who had made her who was familiar with Aunt Polly's diagnosis. Aunt Polly had her for only about a year, and then passed her on to mom. Mom had to give her back to Aunt Polly when her cancer came back, and then she was passed right back once mom was diagnosed with leukemia.

We are taking Aunt Becky food to stock her fridge and freezer to easily feed her family, and we are also taking her new PJs and a bear similar to the one my aunts had made for me for Christmas made out of my mom's clothes. The one for Aunt Becky is made out of my mom's and Aunt Polly's clothes and has angel wings on her back. We will also be taking two of her favorite things from Ohio that they do not have in Indiana: Pizza Oven pizzas and Golden Crisp potato chips. Finally, we will pass the chemo baby on to her new owner.

Even though chemo babies are supposed to be passed among cancer patients, regardless of family or relation, ours will stay with us. She has seen too many of our struggles and tears, and she has spent many hours with two of the sisters, and now she will begin her journey with the third sister. She may just be some silly doll to the outsider looking in, but for us, she carries many memories and an innumerable amount of strength, hope, faith, and courage to be passed on to the person who needs it the most.