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Health & Fitness

Where, Oh, Where has Dippy Gone?

Help me find my daughter's most beloved possession!

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but my middle daughter, Mia, is autistic. She is very capable academically, but is extremely developmentally delayed emotionally. She has the maturity of about a 4- or 5-year-old. This causes issues socially, as well as with difficult issues like loss and grief.

About a year ago, Mia lost her beloved blanket that she named, "Dippy." We searched high and low, near and far. As best as we can tell, she dropped it while walking home from school. In spite of scouring the neighborhood as well as every inch of our home, we have never found Dippy.

Tonight while talking with her mobile therapist, Mia had a meltdown. She cried over Dippy with grief so deep that it was if no time had passed. She also cried over three pets who have died in the last four years and a friend who moved away when she was 7. It was obvious to me that Mia has yet to actually 'cope' with any of these losses. She seems to feel the grief so deeply and so raw as if the loss has just occurred.

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While lamenting this with friends on Facebook, one wisely suggested I appeal to all of you. Perhaps someone out there in the Patch area has seen Dippy! Perhaps someone's dog, child or neighbor found it and it joined the ranks of your rags and old towels! Who knows, and I am not in any way concerned about the condition of Dippy. If we can find it, in any state of disrepair, Mia will be overjoyed!

So please take a look at the two pictures I am posting. One is of Mia with her Dippy when she was still quite young. The back fabric was of bears. The front was once cross-stiched pictures of bears. Over the course of her life, Mia had managed to pick out every single cross stiched thread.

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Take a look around...ask your neighbors. We live near the Oakmont Police Station. If you know anyone who lives near there, maybe they might have a 'lead.'

Maybe Dippy can be found? Maybe.

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