This grand-mom knits amputee dolls to help disabled kids & adults cope

Andrea Harrison, a 57-year-old grandmother of three, lives in Lincolnshire in England. Over six years ago her legs were amputated as she was diabetic and she was in strong need of support. Today, she is finding a way to offer support to disabled children and adults by knitting amputee dolls to help them come to terms with their disability

Harrison says that this is her way of offering love and support to children who have also lost limbs by making dolls for them that reflect their situation.

The idea came from a Facebook community for amputees that Harrison joined to find support herself. She said that at that point she was crocheting to stay busy and decided to make a doll for a child with a prosthetic after her mother wrote about her struggle coping with a removable leg.

Harrison decided to make a doll for the child with a removable leg after her mother said that daughter was fed up of being different. She made the doll with the same colour of hair and eyes as the child.

That was her first doll and since then she has created 100 unique ones. Each doll takes three days to make.

She soon started getting orders from adults. People tell her that the doll has helped them accept their amputation or the issues around their amputation. She does not charge for dolls for kids but many people send her donations.