A family lost a toy elephant with their son’s ashes inside during a trip to Disney World in Florida.
Gabryel Atkinson died before the trip to Florida having spent time in intensive care after undergoing more than 50 surgeries and procedures.
His toy elephant, Bruce, was given to him during his time in hospital and he “slept with it every night” according to his mother, Liz Atkinson.
The US-based Atkinson family kept Gabryel’s ashes in a small bag, placed inside the pouch on Bruce’s back.
On the Disney World trip, the grieving parents took Bruce and Gabryel’s ashes with them, in a bid to pay homage to him while also celebrating the birthday of their surviving son, Sebastyan.
Atkinson has now launched a “desperate” appeal on Facebook after realising the plushie was no longer with them after returning home from the Florida visit.
The memento, which she and her husband kept “in bed” with them before the holiday, was nowhere to be seen after searching “everywhere” and “every bag”.
She feels “sick” and is “struggling to sleep” after the loss, she added.
In her social media plea, Atkinson listed the places the family travelled to and stayed at – having said she called each one, including filling in a lost and found form on Disney’s page – yet there was still no sign of Bruce.
—Agencies
