While traveling over the holidays, a young boy lost his teddy bear on the way home from Milwaukee to Dallas.
5-year-old Ezekiel Burnett had slept with the teddy bear, who he calls Teddy, since he was born. So when he lost the stuffed animal, he was devastated.
Airport workers discovered the bear in the lost and found and while doing so, they noticed something special about the teddy bear. It was a bear only given to children who suffer from congenital heart disease, a rare condition that causes abnormalities in the heart.
The airport shared this information on social media to reunite the two and went viral with #sharethebear. Tens of thousands of users on social media came together to find out who the bear belonged to.
Recognize this face? The search for bear's owner continues! Thank you for helping us spread the word and to those who pointed out that this bear likely belongs to a kid born with CHD. How special he must be. Let's get him home! pic.twitter.com/hCZc4RhF0P
— MKE - Milwaukee Airport (@MitchellAirport) February 7, 2022
Two days after the first post, the family contacted the airport to reunite Ezekiel with his teddy bear.
Southwest Airlines arranged for the family to come back to Milwaukee to reunite the two lifelong friends.