Household loses toy elephant with son’s ashes throughout Disney World trip
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A household says they’re in determined want of assist after dropping their valuable toy elephant whereas visiting Disney World.
On Saturday, Iowa resident Liz Atkinson made a publish on Fb asking for assist after dropping a stuffed elephant that after belonged to her late son Gabryel.
Atkinson stated the elephant, named Bruce, was given to her son when he was within the NICU and was with him for over 50 surgical procedures that had been completed to save lots of his life. Sadly, Gabryel didn’t survive.
“He slept with it each night time and since his passing my husband and I’ve had it in our mattress with us,” Atkinson stated.
To honor their son’s reminiscence, the Atkinson household took their surviving son, Sebastyan, to Disney World on Gabryel’s birthday.
“Bruce, after all, was introduced on our journey and small bag of our son’s ashes had been contained in the pouch on Bruce’s again,” she wrote. “The journey was a bit hectic with 3 completely different cities and accommodations and grief mind kicked in sooner or later with all the feelings, making me actually wrestle with easy reminiscence duties.”
In keeping with Atkinson, the household was first on the Beachside Resort in Cocoa Seashore from April 22 to April 24. Throughout that point, the household went parasailing, with Sebastyan holding Bruce on the journey.
“That is the place the journey will get hazy in my reminiscence as a consequence of feelings and grief,” Atkinson stated. “Pondering again, I don’t recall Sebastyan bringing him again to our automobile.”
She stated that they spent a while at Disney Springs on April 24 after which the Palazzo in Kissimmee till April 25.
Atkinson stated she didn’t recall carrying the stuffed elephant to the lodge, and whereas it will often be packed in a suitcase, the toy was not packed as a result of parasailing journey.
By the point the household checked into Disney’s Artwork of Animation Resort on April 25, they observed Bruce was nowhere to be discovered. They remained there on April 30.
“As a result of autos get messy on journeys, I saved pondering perhaps he was simply combined in someplace (very in contrast to me, I do know the place every thing is 100% of the time even on journeys, thanks grief) however as soon as we obtained residence Could 1 I searched EVERYWHERE,” she wrote. “Each bag. He’s gone.”
Atkinson stated she known as each location her household visited and filed a misplaced and located kind for Disney, however Bruce continues to be nowhere to be discovered.
“I really feel sick, struggling to sleep. I’m determined,” she stated.
Atkinson stated she believes the elephant might be within the parking zone close to Cocoa Seashore Parasailing, the Palazzo, or the orange parking ramp of Disney Springs, in all probability after falling out of the automobile.
“I by no means in one million years would’ve thought that battling grief would have impaired my reminiscence sufficient to overlook him someplace, and I attempted very laborious to ensure he was all the time in a bag or in my arms so this didn’t occur,” she stated.
Atkinson informed 8 On Your Aspect that anybody with data on the elephant’s whereabouts can message her on Fb.
