#stuffed pig

[doctorbeth]

Zhuzhu the blue pig

Zhuzhu lives on the other side of the world, in Singapore! Her person first contacted me a few years ago about her deteriorating condition. Here are her first diagnosis photos:

Her person wrote:

I'm writing to get an estimate for a well-loved and threadbare stuffed pig, who is currently more hole than pig. The fabric has been worn so thin that it breaks, and her previous surgeon (my grandmother) said that it would be very difficult to fix because the fabric can't hold a stitch.

Fortunately, Zhu Zhu did have a bit of protection that was keeping her together at the time:

There were a few options for her care. Spa, patching holes, lining, recovering. It took a couple of years to decide (flying solo halfway around the world is scary!) but eventually Zhuzhu's person decided to send her to California for a spa and full recover. It was the best bet for Zhuzhu to survive for future generations to love.

Here is Zhuzhu in her bubble bath:

There were a few choices for her new skin, and her person opted for French terry like she had originally. It was a really close color match. Her original eyes were going on top of the new fabric, but she would get new nostrils, and she was opting for plumper rather than skinnier, so she could take more hugs. Here's Zhuzhu just before she got closed up to fly back around the globe:

Look at that happy smile! and her person agreed. Yes! Perfect they wrote.

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[its-peach-kitten]

If anyone wants to help me get through the other half of my shake… lemme know 👉🏻👈🏻

[futuredadbodd]

I wish I could eat 7 pounds of grapes at once

[feedeeblackberd]

Been spooning peanut butter into my mouth a lot lately 🥴

[sussistuff]

Look at my belly before and after eating, I look like a pregnant woman

[its-peach-kitten]

Guys is my 1850 calorie lunch showing?

You’d let me know right?

Definitely don’t tease me ahaha 👉🏻👈🏻

[doctorbeth]

Mr. Piggles

Mr. Piggles was one of those patients that was a bit scared of the hospital, so it took some time for him to come in. But as time passed, his injuries became a bit more concerning for his long term stability, and his person convinced him it was time. Here are some of Mr. Piggles' diagnosis photos:

As you can see, he is generally a cheerful (and colorful) pig. But he's had a lot of surgeries and his fabric was having trouble holding stitches over time. Plus, he'd lost his nostrils and what's a pig who can't go snorting around?

We didn't want to change him too much, but he really needed reinforcement, so his person and I agreed to open him up and line him, then stitch his wounds shut to his lining (taking a bit of pressure off his original skin). We also agreed to give him new white nostrils (so he looked the same but wasn't losing stuffing) and a spa. And later, scar minimization was added to his treatment.

The first surprise on Mr. Piggles arrival was that as he was unstuffed, I found a hidden wing:

The wing wasn't for flight (being inside) but for courage because Mr. Piggles, as his person said, is an "emotional support kind of piggy".

Here's Mr. Piggles in his spa:

The pink tub made him feel right at home.

Here's his heart being made and installed with a bit of original stuffing (and his wing went in too). You can also see some of his lining here:

It took quite a few back and fourths to get Mr. Piggles' chubbiness just right, but eventually we did. Here he is, all healthy, closed up, and ready to fly home:

His person wrote:

OH MY GOODNESS!! HE LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER NOW! OOHH THANK YOU SO MUCH DR. BETH!! YOU DID AMAZING!! I REALLY CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH!

And when I asked if I could share his story with all of you, she said "please do!" :-)