Mom Gives 6-Year-Old Son Battling Leukaemia Custom Bear With Late Grandpa's Voice
An Ohio woman filmed the moment she gave her six-year-old leukaemia-battling son a custom-made bear to help him through the loss of his grandfather to COVID-19-induced complications.
When Jessica Turpin’s son, Ryan, lost his grandfather he was devastated. Ryan, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2018, and his grandfather, Bubba Lou, were very close and had a shared love of “going to high school sporting events together,” Turpin told Storyful.
Determined to lift her son’s spirits, Turpin began her search for the perfect gift. She said she wanted to find something that would bring Ryan comfort during the hard time.
“Ryan loves stuffed animals so I decided to make him a custom Build-A-Bear,” Turpin said.
“I took some old voicemails that I had on my phone from his grandfather and mashed them together to make a nice recording for Ryan.”
She had the recording placed inside the bear and dressed the furry friend in something similar to Baba Lou’s go-to sporting apparel.
In the video, filmed on on June 13, Ryan clutches the bear, aptly named Bubba Lou as per the Build-A-Bear birth certificate, and cries as Turpin comforts him. Credit: Jessica Turpin via Storyful
