Boy finds comfort in toy bear with late grandfather's voice: 'I never stopped loving you, Grandpa'

Six-year-old Ryan missed his late grandfather a lot. The youngster, who has been undergoing treatment for leukemia since 2018, was left devastated by the death of his grandad, "Bubba Lou," in May this year from Coronavirus-related complications. Hoping to cheer up her son in some way, Ryan's mom Jessica Turpin decided to make him a custom Build-A-Bear using old voicemails from his granddad. A video shared to Twitter in June shows the heartbreaking moment a tearful Ryan receives the bear and hears his Bubba Lou's message for the first time.

Sharing the video on Twitter, Turpin wrote: My 6yr old son is fighting leukemia and he just lost his grandpa to COVID-19. I made him a custom bear with grandpa’s voice. He cried as soon as he saw it. Such an awesome gift I gave my son. It brings him much comfort. Speaking to Storyful, she revealed that Ryan and his grandfather were very close and shared a love for "going to high school sporting events together." She explained that she wanted to find something that would bring her son some comfort while he grieves his grandfather's death and settled upon the bear since Ryan loves stuffed animals. 

"Ryan loves stuffed animals so I decided to make him a custom Build-A-Bear," said Turpin. "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 then had the audio message placed inside the bear, which she dressed in clothes similar to Bubba Lou's go-to sporting apparel. The now-viral video of Ryan receiving the bear begins with Turpin handing him the bear's "certificate," which lists his birthday as May 2, 2020 — the day of his grandfather's death.

As the youngster tears up while reading the certificate, his mother explained: "'It says his birthday is May 2nd of 2020, that's the day that Bubba Lou passed away. And his name is Bubba Lou bear, and he belongs to Ryan, and it's from mommy." Ryan hugs the bear tightly while crying inconsolably when Turpin adds: "Listen, Bubba Lou wants to tell you something." She then presses the bear's stomach to play the recording and the little boy stops crying to listen intently to his grandad's message. "Thank you, Grandpa. I miss you, Grandpa," he says as the message ends.

"I am always thinking about you and I cry because I really miss you. I love you, Grandpa. I never stopped loving you. I never stopped," he adds. The emotional video of the youngster's love for his grandfathers tugged many heartstrings on social media after the viral video made headlines. "This makes me remember my youngest daughter's words when we visited my father's tomb on his 2nd death anniversary. She was like 'papa genie is here?!!"... and started crying... All along she thought that her grandpa is just in a hospital and she was waiting for him to come home all these years. My heart broke when she asked me if her grandpa will come back so soon because she misses him... My daughter is just 4-years-old," commented Facebook user Shiela May Alamag.

"Ryan is such a sweet loving person. Breaks my heart to see him cry for his grandpa. I’m a Grammie to seven and love them dearly. Ryan has a very smart, sweet & loving momma, too. I’ll be praying for Ryan’s health asking Our Almighty Father to heal him, His Will be done," tweeted Suzen Roman. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society also reached out to Turpin via Twitter, writing: "Sending our thoughts and support to this brave young man."