NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — When Aubrey Harris was diagnosed with gastroparesis, there came a point where she needed a feeding tube. The 13-year-old was not thrilled. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Aubrey Harris is 13 years-old and was recently diagnosed with a disease called gastroparesis

  •  She started a non-profit called Medical Minis, creating stuffed animals that wear the same medical devices some kids have to wear

  •  She does not charge kids anything to get these bears. The entire operation runs off of donations

“Like how it looked on me, like it was going to look funky. People were going to stare at me, people were going to make mean comments at school. Kids weren’t going to know what it was, kids were going to assume weird things,” said Harris. 

Like many teenagers, she worried about how it would make her look. You can't hide a feeding tube. It is literally taped along your face. She admits, she cried a fair amount. 

But then, a child life specialist at the hospital came up with a plan. 

"This is Mallory," said Aubrey, pointing at a picture of her and brown haired woman in the hospital. "She is really the person who got this whole thing started. She gave me this unicorn, this is her cutting into its nose.”

Mallory put a tube onto the unicorn, so it looked the same as Aubrey. A small gesture that ended with a big result. 

"Happy, and it made me feel more normal. And just gave me a very fuzzy feeling know there was something that looked like me, something that reflected me and it wasn’t strange it was just normal," said Aubrey. 

It didn't take long for Aubrey to decide she wanted to do this for other kids, so she started a non-profit called Medical Minis. 

“So Walker, he is a three-year-old little boy, he likes Super Heroes, monkeys, elephants, dogs. He likes orange, green, blue and purple, and he has epilepsy and a g-tube," said Aubrey, reading from her list of orders. 

She gets most requests from kids and parents through her Instagram page. 

As for supplies, they've been mostly donated from her family, friends and some local businesses. An area Walmart hooked her up with a few stuffed animals too.

"This little boy, one of his likes was monkey’s, so we picked out a monkey," she said, as she pulled a brown monkey from a bin. 

She cuts little holes, and puts in actual g-tubes and picc lines. She uses real medical equipment so the kids can see exactly what is in their body. None of it is pretend. 

When she completes an animal, she puts it into a package sleeve and then seals it up. Her smile shows how much happiness this brings her. 

“Oh it makes me very happy, because I know that the little boy is going to look at it and he is going to know that it is something that looks like him and, it’s something that he can cuddle, that he is normal, it’s not something that is bad, it is something that something that is helping you, and it’s beautiful," said Aubrey. 

It is beautiful. 

Aubrey's diagnosis, gastroparesis, unfortunately does not have a cure, so there is long road ahead of this teen. 

But bear after bear, unicorn after unicorn, this fluffy surgery seems to help keep her spirits up.

If you want to help her, Medical Minis does accept donations.