After her son died of cancer at the age of 39, his mother has immortalized him as a life-like baby doll.
Betty Bading, 65, of Tasmania, Australia, was introduced to the art of porcelain doll making when she was in her mid-twenties.
She had built an incredible collection of 30 hand-painted dolls, but most of her work was destroyed in a terrible house fire.
Her passion for dolls was reignited two years ago when her son Greg was stricken with Hodgkin’s cancer.
Betty ordered a Reborn Doll to look like her son as a baby so she could cuddle him whenever she wanted as a lasting monument to Greg, who died in June.
“My husband and I were living with Greg while he was through therapy,” Betty explained.
After her son died of cancer at the age of 39, his mother has immortalized him as a life-like baby doll.
Betty Bading, 65, of Tasmania, Australia, was introduced to the art of porcelain doll making when she was in her mid-twenties.
She had built an incredible collection of 30 hand-painted dolls, but most of her work was destroyed in a terrible house fire.
Her passion for dolls was reignited two years ago when her son Greg was stricken with Hodgkin’s cancer.
Betty ordered a Reborn Doll to look like her son as a baby so she could cuddle him whenever she wanted as a lasting monument to Greg, who died in June.
“My husband and I were living with Greg while he was through therapy,” Betty explained.
Betty was exposed to porcelain dolls by a local woman who was conducting workshops from her home in the 1970s when she was a young, 20-something mother living in Cairns.
Her five small children would play quietly in the next room while she painstakingly painted on the dolls’ faces and sprayed on their hair for hours.
Betty quickly amassed a collection of 30 dolls, which she brought with her and her family to Tasmania in 1985.
But, only a year later, their home was destroyed by a horrific fire caused by an electrical fault, and only five of Betty’s dolls were saved.
Betty, a barmaid at the time, decided to stop producing dolls since she didn’t have enough money.
Betty was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2010, after years of waiting.
“One day, my cat started stroking my breasts,” she explained. It was strange because he had never been cordial and would never sit with me.
“When I went to the doctor, they found a tumor and told me I had stage four breast cancer,” she says.
“They didn’t think I’d live to tell the tale, but here I am.” I had all of my breast tissue removed and underwent six rounds of chemotherapeutic treatment, which was extremely taxing.
“Then I had a stroke two years later, and now I can’t get anywhere without my walker.”
But the difficulties didn’t stop there.
Betty’s son Greg was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s cancer two years later.
Greg, like his mother, had five children and was living with them and his wife, Lavinia, in Batemans Bay, Australia, when he received the tragic news.
Betty and her German husband Anton, 76, traveled to Batemans Bay to assist Greg with his treatment. They were desperate to help their son in any way they could.
Greg lost his battle with cancer in June 2016, after developing a nasty case of double pneumonia, but not before helping his mother rediscover her love.
“One day, when we were watching Greg, he got out his laptop and taught me how to start a Facebook page for dolls,” Betty explained.
“Knowing how much I like collecting them, he reasoned that it would be a wonderful diversion for me.”
“We formed a Facebook page called ‘Dolls, Teddies, Reborns, Gollies, and All Other Toys of Yesterday,’ where individuals can buy and sell antique toys.”
“I noticed a doll that looked exactly like Lynette, my daughter, there.”
“She had the same smile as Lynette as a child, so I called the artist and showed her a picture of Lynette.”
“Then I had one made up to look like Greg, as well as his son Sebastian and brother Anthony.”
“Greg was overjoyed to see his lifelike doll before he died.”
The dolls are priced differently, but Lynette and Greg’s were $600 (£350) each.
Betty has since added 40 Reborn Dolls to her collection, each of which is modeled after a loved one, and she estimates her collection is worth $12,000. (£7,000)
Betty produces and sells lavender from her home in Tasmania, which is crammed with dolls, to help pay her passion.
“We reside in a separate one-bedroom home with our daughter, Lynette, and her family,” she explained.
“The dolls are sitting in front of the television in their tiny chairs and beds.
“I also have a bassinette and a pram with eight babies in it.”
“They’re also a hit with my husband, especially the ones that look like our own kids.”
“And after I’m gone, the dolls will go to whoever they look like.” They are family heirlooms.”