A five-year-old Florida boy who has had multiple surgeries was given a custom-made doll that has the same surgical scars he does.
Payton Haynes, from Sebring, has undergone two cranial surgeries due to two separate neurological conditions that have left him with scars on his skull and on his abdomen.
His mother, Kristin Hayes, told Good Morning America she wanted her son to have a look-alike doll because there was no toy on the market that looked similar to him.
After hearing this, students at nearby Cracker Trail Elementary School contacted a nonprofit, which was able to make a doll that has the same scars in the same places as Payton.
Payton Hayes, five, from Sebring, Florida, was diagnosed when he was born with craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the skull’s bones fuse before the brain is fully formed. Pictured: Payton being gifted his custom-made doll
He had his first surgery when he was three months old. Last year, Payton had a second surgery after he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition where there is a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Pictured: Payton with his custom-made doll
When Payton was born, he was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the skull’s bones fuse before the brain is fully formed.
Surgery is needed to correct the head’s shape so the brain can grow properly.
His mother told Good Morning America that he underwent his first surgery when he was just three months old.
More recently, last year, he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition where there is a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.
In December, he underwent a nine-hour surgery so doctors could insert a shunt.
The operations have left with a five-inch-long scar on the back of his skull and a scar on his abdomen, reported Good Morning America.
The idea for a look-alike doll came after second grade students at Cracker Trail Elementary School, and her class raised through $500 in a fundraiser.
‘In the past we’ve donated to The Humane Society, the children’s museum, so we took a class vote on what to do this year,’ lead teacher Liz Prendergast told DailyMail.com.
The class decided to donate to a child with a serious illness.
The two surgeries have left Payton (pictured, left and right) with scars on his skull and on his abdomen. Students at a nearby elementary school raised money and decided they wanted to donate some of the money to Payton’s family
The school contacted Amy Jandrisevits, who runs a nonprofit organization that makes custom dolls. Despite her long waiting list, she committed to making the doll in one weekend. Pictured: Payton with the doll at a doctor’s appointment
Prendergast reached out to the charity Champions for Children, who put them into contact with two families, one of them was Payton’s.
‘I was talking to Kristin, Payton’s mom, and we said we liked the idea of buying something and giving it to the child,’ Prendergast said.
‘And she said: “You know, there’s this doll made by a woman that I’ve been following on Facebook and if he could share it with his friends and show the doll’s scars and explain it using a doll, that would be so cool”.’
That woman was Amy Jandrisevits, who runs a nonprofit organization called Doll Like Me that makes custom dolls.
Jandrisevits told Prendergast that she had a long waiting list but, after she heard Payton’s story, she committed to making the doll in one weekend.
The mother-of-three spent six to seven hours working at her dining room table before she overnight mailed the doll to the school.
‘This is a big deal, and I think these kids had a great lesson in empathy,’ Jandrisevits told DailyMail.com.
‘It’s such a great lesson for these kids. You can’t vote, you don’t have decisions in your medical care, but you can make a different in another kid’s life.’
On Friday, the second-grade class presented Payton with the doll (pictured, with Payton in orange), which he named Little Payton
Payton’s mother says he plans to use the doll to explain his scars to classmates and he takes the doll with him to doctor’s appointments. Pictured: Payton, center, with his family
On Friday, the class presented Payton with the doll, which he named Little Payton.
‘I was really nervous because I told him we were giving him a gift and he asked: “Are you giving me dinosaur?”‘ Prendergast said.
‘But when he saw it, he said: “He looks like me, he has my scar!” It didn’t look just like him but he knew what that meant to see the scars and that’s personal to him. It gives me chills.’
Jandrisevits, who made the doll, said that Payton’s mom told her he takes the doll with him wherever her goes, even to doctors’ appointments.
‘When I make dolls, nine times out of ten, [kids] name them after themselves or some version of their name,’ she said.
‘They really look into the face of a doll and want to see their own face. We can’t underestimate how important that is.’