Talking teddy bear helps Dementia sufferer
13 July 2016
An 83-year-old dementia sufferer broke down in tears after her family presented her with a talking teddy bear - with the voice of her late husband. Grandmother-of-five Jean Walters, of Withywood, Bristol was filmed giving the bear a hug and looking on in shock after Dennis, who died of lung cancer 11 years ago, spoke back to her.
Jean, who struggles with memory loss and gets confused because of her illness, is seen hugging the bear tightly and appears overjoyed by the gesture. The toy contains a voice-box that says: 'You're the best girl in the world for me' - something Dennis wrote in letters to Jean during his time in the Army.It was originally made by Jean's only granddaughter, Abbie Webb, 27, a month before Dennis passed away in 2005 and was presented to the dementia sufferer on Tuesday.
'She was absolutely ecstatic,' said Abbie, 'I got the teddy bear made for my grandma's birthday in August 2005 because I wanted to do something nice. We are really close. 'She just cried and cried and cried when I gave it to her. She loved it.' Jean was worried she would lose the voice forever, prompting her granddaughter to take the internet to find a solution to the problem.
Abbie came across a company who were able to replace the battery and get the bear working again - and they even carried out the work for free. Great-grandmother-of-six Jean - who also has three great grandchildren on the way - was reunited with her beloved teddy on Tuesday night. Abbie said: 'When it broke she put on a brave face and said, 'I have had many happy years with it.' 'But I was distraught and I felt so guilty. It was something we couldn't get back, with him having passed away 11 years earlier. 'She told me to sew the teddy bear up and said she would just have that, but I really wanted to get it fixed. 'She had been asking me for it back every day and I had to keep lying, saying I hadn't sewn it back up yet. 'When she saw it sitting on the chair she just hugged it and checked the stitches to see if I had sewn it up properly. 'Then we told her to squeeze it and she was overjoyed.' 'With her dementia, she gets quite confused with emotion and sometimes she loses track of things, so I imagined she was just going to say thanks,' she added. 'It shocked me and all of my family that she was that taken aback by getting it back. 'It has helped her through so much. She listens to the recording every day, in the mornings.'
Jean grew up in Bedminster and met Dennis when she was around 13. The couple were married for more than 50 years and had three children - Marie, Dennis and Andrew - before he passed away aged 72. Abbie added: 'I would like to thank Brian from Talking Product Ltd. He went above and beyond to help us out and made it all possible.'
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