29 April 2024

Regular readers will have noticed that many patients in Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital this year have been of non-ursine variety. I have, however, had a fair share of bears too. One such, a 1950s Bear, needed new eyes, having gone completely blind. I also treated a gaping wound in his neck and a few smaller ones, reinforced his unique stripy paw pads, added stuffing, and re-embroidered his nose and smile.

Another bear, 60-year-old William John, only came to the Hospital for a nose job. He was beaming after his operation, and his owner was overjoyed to see him smiling happily again.

I also had 22-year-old Sizzle, who looked quite sad on arrival. Once I have mended his holes and added some stuffing to his body and limbs, he perked up and could not wait to go back home to his family.

22 April

The Steiff Rabbit was not a happy bunny when he arrived in Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital. He had a run-in with a puppy some years previously and came off worst, with his whiskers, nose and one ear badly mauled. It took me a while to find the right shade of yellow for his ear, but in the end Rabbit was whole and fighting fit again.

20-year-old Unicorn was cuddled so much that she had lost her hooves and shed lots of stuffing through the resulting holes. I added new stuffing and made her new shiny hooves, incorporating in one the tea towel that the owner's mother had used to repair her years earlier.

Unlike those two, Tigger only spent a couple of hours in Hospital. He booked an appointment for fear of "doing an Eeyore" (i.e. losing his tail), and asked for some extra stuffing too. I soon got him fixed, and he was back to his old bouncing self.

14 April

It would be fair to say that 73-year-old Bear was falling apart when he arrived in the Teddy Bear Hospital. His treatment took a long time, but in the end the Bear's head was most definitely in the right place. The Bear's owner asked me to record all the stages of his treatment, and he was happy for me to share the record here.

6 April

Two very nice patients (who had become good friends here at Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital) were discharged on the same day.

Ted, a London-based bear in his late 60s, had come in for major surgery. I gave him lots of straw stuffing, four new paw pads and new hip joints. He also had his holes mended, his smile restored, and nose touched up. On top of that, like most of my patients, Ted was treated to a good gentle clean. His owner was overjoyed at his recovery when she came to collect him.

Dog, who was a tad younger, had lost both eyes and his voice, so he understandably looked rather depressed when he came to me. I gave him new eyes and a new squeaker and restored his smile. After giving him a good clean and brush, I added some kapok stuffing and mended all his holes too. "He looks amazing," his owner's wife said upon seeing Dog after his treatment.

31 March

Hot on the heels of Nelly (see the previous entry), I had another elephant patient at my Teddy Bear Hospital. Lelephlumps the Steiff rocking elephant had shed some stuffing through a nasty tear on his face. I treated his wound, added some stuffing - and Lelephlumps was ready to rock again))

Another very unusual patient was a giant Soot Sprite. You may know it as a Soot Gremlin or Susuwatari, and I know now that it is a character from Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli animated films. This particular Soot Sprite's eyes had become all crinkly, so I gave it new leather ones, which should serve it well for a long time.

Soot Sprite came to the Hospital with a friend, Dog, who I think also comes from some Japanese animation. There was not much wrong with him, except that he had become a bit floppy and needed some plumping up with new stuffing. I also made him a nice new red velvet collar.

29 March

When Rabbit came to Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital, he was very limp and in danger of losing his head. I treated the wound in his neck, which had been the cause of his troubles, put in some extra stuffing, and gave him a gentle clean. Rabbit was most grateful, and hopped off in buoyant mood.

Nelly the Elephant required a more comprehensive treatment. I removed what remained of her foam stuffing, cleaned her hide very thoroughly, and re-stuffed her with polyfill. I also mended the hole on her tongue, reattached her legs, and repainted her eyes. Much to Nelly's delight, I made her a nice new skirt and tied a pink silk bow round her neck.

Another patient, much-loved Blue Ted, had lots of holes in him and had long lost all his facial features. The fabric that he was made of needed reinforcing as it was so threadbare as to become see-through. After surgery, Blue Ted felt years younger and full of life. He was particularly pleased to be able to see again, though his fetching button eyes.

27 March

This Chad Valley bear called Teddy was a sample sent in the 1960s to a toy shop in Henley-on-Thames. His present owner's mother, who worked there, took it home for her very young daughter. Teddy had a wind-up musical box inside, and years later his owner could still remember the tune that it played - Teddy Bears Picnic. When the box stopped working, it was taken out and put away - never to be found again. So when Teddy was admitted to the Teddy Bear Hospital, his owner asked me to find another musical box with the same tune and fit it inside Teddy. It took some time (the first box that we found broke before I had a chance to fit it), but we got there in the end, and now Teddy plays Teddy Bears Picnic again!

I also gave him a good gentle clean, added some stuffing, re-embroidered his nose and mended some holes in his paw pads. Teddy's owner was overjoyed when they were reunited after his treatment.

18 March

Goldie, aged about 40, came to Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital for some repairs to the stitching on his neck, muzzle reinforcement, and a good clean.

When I told his owner that I would also have to replace all of Goldie's original stuffing (foam chunks, which do not age well), she asked me to keep some of it. So I made a couple of cushions filled with Goldie's original stuffing and put one in his head and the other in his body, just as his owner wanted. 

15 March

Two recent patients at my Teddy Bear Hospital, Tederinna and Mufti, have always been good friends despite a rather striking difference in size.

At 54, Tederinna the Bear was the older and the more responsible of the two, always looking after Mufti and a few other friends. She looked after herself well too, and only needed small repairs to her paw and neck.

41-year-old Mufti the Monkey, small enough to accompany his owner on all her travels, required more serious treatment. The fabric of his muzzle was worn through from all the kisses he received, and his smile and nostrils had to be re-embroidered. I also gave him a good clean, and soon the two friends were ready to reunite with their owner.

Another patient, 26-year-old Rabbit, needed a new face, having lost his eyes, nose and tongue, while the inside of his ears had to be replaced, as the fabric was very threadbare. After his treatment and a good clean, Rabbit said he was delighted to be able to see again, and most pleased with his nice new pink nose.

I also had a Charlie Bear called Special Bear - because he was really special to his 9-year-old owner! Special Bear was very well looked after but had become a bit wobbly over the years. I tightened his joints, so he can now stand on his own two paws, and hug his owner with his other two paws))

13 March

I had an unusual request at my Teddy Bear Hospital recently: to embroider a cleft surgery scar on the face of a Teddy Lion. I am glad to report the operation was successful, and the patient is now back with his owner.  Another happy patient just discharged from the Hospital was 50-something George. He was treated to a gentle clean, and received new paw pads and a new smile.

12 March

Few of my patients will have been made at a model aircraft factory. Yet this is where Bob the Terrier must have come from, many years ago. Bob has a fine pedigree: he is a Tri-Ang Toy, made in Britain by Lines Bros Ltd. some time in the 1950s. His self-confessed "dog loon" owner had rescued Bob when she saw him left out in the rain on someone's porch. Like most rescue dogs, he then needed a lot of care to see him back to health.

When Bob was admitted to Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital, I first gave him a good clean. Then I fixed his eyes, which had kept falling out, and emboidered him a new nose and smile. I even gave him a skin transplant in a few places, and grafted some new matching fur on to his ears and his back.

 

9 March

Many Teddy Bear lovers will have recognised this recent patient at Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital as a Merrythought Cheeky Bear - one that has bells in his rather big ears. Edward, however, was no ordinary bear: he had a zip in his back and could serve as a pyjama case! His owner remembers that when she bought him from Heelas in Reading back in 1967, the zipped version cost a whole pound less than the standard one - so it made perfect sense to choose it. Edward has since become a much loved family member, so no-one thought it appropriate to ask him to open his zip and put a pyjama in.

So part of Edward's treatment was to remove the redundant zip and make him a proper Bear at long last. I gave him a good clean and brush, so his fur regained its original colour and softness. While he was drying, our cat Lucy graciously agreed to keep him company. I replaced the paw pads on Edward's feet, carefully transferring his prized Merrythought label, and repaired his nose.