Miami Herald - July 11, 2004
Lily Leung, Herald writer

Some parents buy toys to comfort a sad child. From the latest superhero action figure to the newest Barbie doll, they have their pick of toys that can lift a kid's spirits.

But James McDaniel knew it would take more than a quick trip to the toy store to cheer up his girlfriend's granddaughter.

Chelsea Antoinette Carroll lost her mother to HIV when she was 3 1/2 years old. Her father, Edward, died from a massive heart attack three years later at age 43.

The child held up well during the time of grief because she was still young, said McDaniel, a longtime friend of Chelsea's family. But he wanted to make something that embodied and celebrated her life. Chelsea's mother, Glynora Newsome, who died in 1994 at age 29, had HIV while she was pregnant with her but the child was born with no trace of the virus.

"It's a miracle that her momma had her when she had HIV and the baby came out normal," McDaniel said.

With no knowledge of craft work, McDaniel spent a year making a doll in the child's likeness and named it "Chelsea Doll." He honed his design for the 12-inch doll after seeking advice from people ranging from his son-in-law to a homeless craftsman in his neighborhood.

Along with the doll, McDaniel wrote a leaflet telling Chelsea's story.

"I don't know where I got the idea to make the doll," said McDaniel, "but it's all inspired by the young girl."

McDaniel, 67, a retired longshoreman, did not stop with one doll. He wanted others to know Chelsea's story.

In November 2003, the Hialeah resident flew with his doll to Mexico and placed an order with Elizabeth Mu±ecas, a doll-making factory, for 500 copies. He plans to donate the dolls to Miami Children's Hospital in South Miami.

McDaniel said he paid more than $4,100 for 300 of the dolls, but cannot get them until he pays a $600 shipping fee to a company in Miami. He says the Mexican company went back on its promise to cover the shipping fee, which he cannot afford. He also has to pay for storage costs.

"It's been a very frustrating," McDaniel said. "I just want the dolls."

McDaniel also needs more than $800 to pay for the 200 remaining dolls at Elizabeth Mu±ecas, which is run by Guillermo Matta, according to a company business card.

McDaniel also said he asked that the dolls be made of rubber but the company used cloth instead. Also, the company did not include the leaflet on Chelsea's history, which the doll was supposed to hold in its hands, and did not include underwear that McDaniel said he designed for the doll.

"They agreed on all these things and they were even written down," McDaniel said. "They just didn't follow through on any of them."

Matta denies promising to pay for shipping, saying the customer is responsible for covering the costs.

McDaniel agreed to have the doll with a cloth body the factory had on stock, said Matta, who said he flew to Miami for an interview for this story Friday.

The only part that would be made of rubber would be the head, which, Matta said, the company made a mold of. Matta said he had no notes about the underwear but he admitted the company forgot to ship the leaflets of Chelsea's story.

"We should've done this, but we bypassed it," Matta said. "But he had agreed on everything else."

A $1,000 cashier's check McDaniel sent to Matta in February never reached the factory's account, so McDaniel still owes $450 for the 300 dolls, Matta said. McDaniel also owes $1,900 for the remaining 200 dolls, he said.

McDaniel, however, said his cashier's check was cashed and a copy of the receipt was sent to Matta in April but McDaniel said he has not heard anything further. Matta said discussions are taking place with the bank to resolve the issue of the $1,000 check.

Chelsea, now 14, is unaware of McDaniel's efforts to sort out problems with his order and shipping. She is just grateful McDaniel traveled as far as Mexico to have dolls made after her.

"I am very flattered Mr. McDaniel did this for me," Chelsea said. "The doll really looks like me, and it is based on me, my mother and how I grew up."

Chelsea and a ninth-grade student in Miami Northwestern High's nursing magnet program wants to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, Lois Lewis, 70, a retired nurse. This summer, she is enrolled in a high school nursing program at the University of Miami. She hopes to use her knowledge in nursing to find a cure for HIV.

"Over the years, I've been missing my mother, and I thought that the doctors should have found a cure for her while she was sick," Chelsea said.

Chelsea's grandmother began caring for the child when she was 6 months old. But she suffered a stroke in 1993, and Chelsea moved to St. Augustine to live with her two great-aunts. Three years later, she moved back in with her grandmother.

Lewis said Chelsea does not remember much about her mom. Even though she been living with Lewis, whom she calls, "Nanny," Chelsea always had McDaniel as a father figure in her life, Lewis said.

'Chelsea calls James 'Poppa,' " Lewis said. "The whole doll thing was a spur-of-the-moment decision but he's really wants this to work out."

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