A mom is pleading for help on Facebook, in an attempt to locate a special toy that their family accidentally lost on a trip to Disney World. The Iowa mom, Liz Atkinson, explained that the elephant held her late son’s ashes. Gabryel died before the family could make it to Disney together. Liz shared in her post that the stuffed animal was given to her son in the NICU, and had been with him through over 50 surgeries. The family took their surviving son, Sebastyan, on the trip, along with Gabryel’s elephant, Bruce, to celebrate what would have been Gabryel's 9th birthday.
The mom shared all the places they visited on the trip they took in late April, and asked for everyone to share the post in the hopes that the elephant Bruce will be found. Her post has now been shared over 14,000 times and received over 1,000 comments from users offering sympathy as well as tagging others to help find it.
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‘I feel sick, struggling to sleep. I’m desperate,’ the mother wrote in her Facebook post.
“I never in a million years would’ve thought that struggling with grief would have impaired my memory enough to forget him somewhere, and I tried very hard to make sure he was always in a bag or in my arms so this didn’t happen,” the mother wrote in her Facebook post.
The Atkinson family visited a number of places on their trip to Florida, including Cocoa Beach and Disney Springs, per People. Overall, the family visited three different cities and stayed at three different hotels on the Florida trip, the outlet reported.
Liz seemed confident that Bruce was in one of several locations they had narrowed it down to. “I really think he is probably somewhere in the parking lot near cocoa beach parasailing, the palazzo, or the orange parking ramp of Disney springs maybe from falling out of the car,” she wrote.
The mom shared why Bruce is so special and asked anyone with information to contact her on Facebook.
She shared in her post that their family made the trip to Disney for her late son’s birthday. She noted he had gotten the elephant while in the NICU and used to sleep with it every night. So in honor of their son Gabryel, they brought his stuffed elephant Bruce on the trip and a small bag of their son’s ashes were placed inside the stuffed animal.
“Our son, Gabryel passed away before we could make it to Disney. For his birthday this year we took our surviving son, Sebastyan, on the trip. Gabryel was given this elephant in the NICU and it was at every surgery/procedure (over 50) and hospitalization (too many to count) with him. He slept with it every night and since his passing my husband and I have had it in our bed with us. His name is Bruce. Bruce, of course, was brought on our trip and small bag of our son’s ashes were inside the pouch on Bruce’s back,” she wrote
The mother reached out to the lost and found at Disney, and even the head housekeeper where they stayed, in an attempt to find the elephant.
Liz shared in her post that she had called all the places they had stayed at, but the elephant still has not been found. “I’ve called each of the places listed above and filled out a lost and found form on Disney’s page. No one has found him,” she wrote. The mom shared that she thought the elephant was with their belongings and didn’t realize he was missing until they got home.
“Because vehicles get messy on trips, I kept thinking maybe he was just mixed in somewhere (very unlike me, I know where everything is 100% of the time even on trips, thank you grief) but once we got home May 1 I searched EVERYWHERE. Every bag. He’s gone,” she wrote.
Another Facebook user shared a similar story of a missing stuffed animal and said it was accidentally taken and tangled up with the sheets but found by staff before being transported off site. The mother responded that she had asked the head housekeeper and the company that does the laundering to be on the lookout for the elephant.
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Facebook users offered advice and support to help find the elephant.
Facebook users commented with encouragement and suggestions on the mother's heartbreaking post. Hopefully with all the support and shares, the family is able to find Bruce soon.
"Hope he is found soon," one user wrote. "Sending hugs, cares and prayers."
Another user commented: “I sure hope you find Bruce. I shared your post, be sure and call Disney's lost and found at Disney World. They are wonderful helping to locate lost items, best wishes on your journey and prayers you find Bruce.”
"This happened to someone else at Disney," another user wrote. "And the stuffed animal was returned safely … don’t worry Bruce will be home soon."
