CALIFORNIA, USA — The Butterfly Pig isn't your typical toy store. Owner and former pediatric oncology nurse Mary Jenner creates medical-themed toys for children with chronic illnesses or disabilities.
"I found that it was so much easier to do procedures on children when they understood what was going on, and the best way to explain it was I would put IVs in their teddy bears, and demonstrate on the stuffed animal before I actually would do it on the child," Jenner said.
This sparked the idea. Now her toy shop has a goal of empowering children and teaching them self-advocacy through play. The Butterfly Pig comes from a children's book she wrote with the same name. It tells the story of a little pig born different and learns the joy of being himself.
"Every child wants to see themselves represented in their toys, and this is something that increases representation of children with medical needs," Jenner said.
There are plenty of options from IVs, hearing aids, and crutches. People can even order something custom to a child's needs. Three-year-old Elijah Joksch was born with a congenital heart defect and owns a replica echocardiogram from Jenner's shop.
"He's seen a lot of medical equipment. He's had a lot of procedures, so this is just our life," said his mother, Andrea Joksch. "He was able to bring it to his appointment and show his doctor and explain to him what he thought was happening. It really changed these medical procedures from something that was happening to him that might be scary, to something that he was a part of."
Jenner designs the toys, 3D prints and assembles them in Elk Grove. They cost between $10 and $40 with a one to three-day shipping turnaround. She said custom orders take a little longer but you can request those via email at mary@thebutterflypig.com.
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