Twenty-one-month-old George Tait was born with a hole in his heart and has had his bunny comforter from Asda by his side through three rounds of surgery – so when his dad Dylan wrote to tell us he needed a new one our colleagues pulled out all the stops to find a replacement.
The comforter – which was bought at our Toryglen store – has been discontinued, so with it showing signs of wear Dylan wrote to us asking for help.
Emma Darlison from our executive relations team worked with Siobhan McIntyre, the baby essentials buyer in our George team, and our supplier to track down a replacement.
They managed to find two spare bunny comforters just like the one George loves so much, so Siobhan and the team put together a little gift pack for George with the two comforters, a dressing gown, toys and blankets which they posted to his home in Glasgow.
Dylan said: "We're absolutely speechless – everyone's efforts to help have been unbelievable. George was absolutely thrilled. He's in love with the new comforters and took to them just like he took to the old one, picking them up and cuddling them.”
George lives with Dylan and his three-month-old sister Bailey. The family are regular customers at our Toryglen store.
Dylan said: "He's been so attached to this comforter from the start. He takes it everywhere with him and it's been at his bedside during all of his operations. He won't settle without it.
"Because he never lets go of it, it's got battered and bruised. We've had it repaired twice, and were told it wouldn't make it through another repair because the seams have worn away.
"We knew we had to get another exactly the same, so we went into the store and checked online, but realised it was out of stock. So I emailed Asda explaining why this comforter was so important to George, and asking if they could help somehow.
"I got a reply that night and then about a week later I got a call from Emma saying they'd managed to source two of the comforters. Less than a week after that, a parcel with two of the comforters, a dressing gown, toys and blankets arrived."
George was born with a heart condition called atrioventricular septal defect and has undergone three operations at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
Dylan said: "His first operation was to repair the hole and fit two valves, his second and third operations were to repair the valve. His next one will be a valve replacement.
"He always runs about, he loves life and to look at him you wouldn't know everything he's been through.
"When he goes into hospital, he's always in the same ward, so they all know him and love him. The care he's received there has been tremendous."
Dylan's a passionate supporter of the British Heart Foundation and recently took part in a charity 100km walk from Glasgow to Edinburgh.
He sent photos of George with his new comforters to Siobhan and her colleagues to say thank you for their help.
Siobhan said: "The picture of George happy to have received his new comforters brought a tear to my eye, and made everyone's day here. The whole team were really touched by Dylan's email, so it was a big team effort to help.
"We keep samples for a while but normally dispose of them after a year, and this has been out of stock for at least two years. So I emailed the suppliers asking if they had any. Luckily they found a couple in their archive which they were able to send out to us – and the lovely picture of George shows just how important that was."
