Tung Chung has recently witnesses an event with plot twists to rival a Guy Ritchie film. The tale involved ransom payments, hospital admissions and lost love, all involving two Tung Chung families' chance meeting. This story is waiting for a serialisation into a Hollywood movie... If you have kids, or even have a vague understanding of the little pint-sized people, you'll know they all have a favourite 'thing'; a teddy, a doll, a blanket - and they're inseparable from this object, especially under stressful situations.
Last Monday, 7 year old Tung Chung resident 'G' started to suffer rashes and swelling in her feet. Her concerned parents took not to Facebook, but did the right thing and got her quickly to the emergency room at Princess Margaret Hospital. 'G's little stuffed bear friend Doris also came for the ride to provide much needed moral support.
Thankfully anything life threatening was ruled quickly out by the expert medicals teams at Princess Margaret Hospital and 'G' and Doris the bear were discharged and were on their way home the next day. Or were they? Once home, the family realised that Doris was not with them. 'G' was very upset, as any seven year old would be. "When we got home yesterday we realised we lost "Doris", said 'G's Mum. "At first we thought we left Doris in the taxi so we tried our very best to call those taxi info numbers" she explained. 'G' was upset. She's been though a hospital visit and now lost her best friend. Her parents got serious in the search, as any good parent would. Their first obvious port-of-call was the taxi company. They had the receipt and taxi license, but were getting nowhere. Desperate for a result, the parents kindly asked the taxi company to put out a call to all drivers to see if Doris has hitched a lift in the wrong cab. The taxi company demanded HK$850 (ROBBERY) to give a quick shout out, but no one had seen Doris. The family were destroyed. G is in tatters... There was one final option to find Doris. It's was probably the most powerful option of all. Hong Kong Moms' Facebook Page. With 86k members, G's mum figured she'd open up the might of one of the most powerful entities on earth. Mothers. The post read: "The power of HK moms, we left our daughter's beloved teddy bear today in a red taxi. She had it since she was born and could not sleep without it, by chance if anyone found it please reach out to me." Oh boy, was that the right thing to do!
Everyone was super helpful with many parents sharing their stories of lost teddies and distraught kiddos, K.S wrote: "My son has the exact same bear which I have a duplicate of as I am so scared to lose … they are still in production it’s a Gund and available. I know the distributor in Hong Kong and Australia should you need help to source another..." H.L.N wrote and can clearly sympathise: "Are bear and daughter reunited?! So upset hearing she had lost It. My teddy got stolen off the back of my pushchair at Star Ferry in a bookshop when I was 3. I was told I was hysterical and wouldn’t sleep for days. Grandparents and Mum hunted in every shop in the uk and hk looking for a replacement- found in a dusty box on a dusty shelf in a Wan Chai toy shop. Still have ‘Teddy 2’ , but strangely still dream about the first one! Traumatic times for kids." But there is always one... C M wrote: "Sorry to hear about teddy, but is it healthy to have such a {sic} attachment to an object? Not sure" Thanks for that valuable input CM! Well, you'll never guess what happened...
An absolute superstar and Tung Chung resident Gladys Joy (appropriate surname!) happened to be in the same hospital, waiting on the birth of her child, and saw little Doris alone on a chair. figuring the bear probably wasn't there for a hospital appointment, Gladys connected the dots and thankfully took the time to write back.
It's the little deeds like this that make the world a better place to live in.
'G's mum Emy said "We will get a teddy bear for her newborn son as a thank you gift. It is a happy ending story." YES IT IS! Just goes to show the power of community. Hope you're OK G, awesome parenting Emy and co. and thanks so much to Gladys and a huge welcome to your son. If you need anything, the community has your back.
All pictures and names posted with permission. EDIT: I've since found out that Glady's child was born today! Amazing! Welcome to the world, little dude.