Shadow Buddies Help Sick Children Cope

For the past year, 14-year-old Jeni Sorensen has been one of hundreds of pediatric heart patients nationwide to grapple with medical problems with a companion by their side.

They are called Shadow Buddies--12-inch dolls that reflect different illnesses and medical treatments and provide comfort for the girls and boys who own them.

The Camarillo teenager was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or half a heart, a condition that makes the future uncertain. She has had two major surgeries, three pacemakers and hundreds of medical procedures.

Jeni, her mother, Jill Sorensen, and two other community members founded the Treasured Hearts support group for children facing heart surgery. It meets on the third Friday of each month.

“I was participating in Treasured Hearts when someone gave me a Shadow Buddy with a surgery scar and a heart on the chest,” Jeni said. “If I have to go to the hospital or stay there for a long period of time, I will probably take it with me.”

The dolls are available free to Ventura County children at the Camarillo Health Care District through corporate sponsorship from Conejo Mountain Memorial Park.

Marilyn Adams, a registered nurse and wellness coordinator for the district, said one of the most difficult things about being a child with a chronic condition is the isolation of being different.

“Shadow Buddies have been designed to be both a companion and a teaching tool,” Adams said. “Our goal is to continue meeting the needs of children who have a health problem or need a friend that is just like them. They feel as if they are not the only one who has a tube.”

Jeni has no more surgeries scheduled for now, according to her mother.

“We have to wait and see and take it one day at a time,” Jill Sorensen said. “There is no prognosis for the future, although if her heart rate goes higher, it can be controlled by medication and a pacemaker. At some point in the future she may need a transplant, but that’s not for a while yet because she she’s doing pretty well.”

Dolls reflect other conditions and treatments including lung transplant, diabetes, ostomy, oncology, day surgery, dialysis, Down’s syndrome, vision problems, HIV/AIDS, respiratory disease, orthopedic, burns and breast cancer. They are available in two skin tones and four hair colors.

For information or to request a Shadow Buddy, call 388-1952.