AIBU to be heartbroken the cleaner ruined my platypus?

[RightYesButNo]

I have a few painful autoimmune conditions, so we have a cleaner once a week. Currently, I’m in a very bad flare, sleeping through the pain, etc. I asked if she could change the bed and I’d just stay in the living room until she was done. I fell asleep on the sofa in just a few minutes and then I awakened when she was kindly telling me I could get back in bed. Already embarrassing.

I sleep with a stuffed platypus every night. My condition causes really painful trouble breathing so hugging him makes it a bit better. He’s just the right size, etc. He’s been on countless hospital visits, hospitalizations, even a few surgeries with me.

I didn’t notice until the cleaner left and I found him drying on top of the hanging sheets that were also drying. I’m ashamed but I cried; his fur is a bit ruined, his insides are all balled and smell wrong; I think it may be time for him to go to the “beloved stuffed friends retirement shelf” with DH’s one-eyed childhood teddy.

But I can’t believe how upset I am. I feel just so sad. I know this is definitely some HUGE hospital PTSD, and fear of facing more pain without a comfort object. Erm… AIBU to ask if anyone has a stuffed friend who helps your fears at the age of mumble mumble over 30? And if you might cry (a lot) if they were semi-destroyed?

@ErrolTheDragon Sadly, no eggs. And yes, I’m wondering if MNHQ are platypus fans???

@ThumbWitchesAbroad This thread is Velveteen Rabbit approved. If you love it, it’s as equally pretty as any platypus anywhere.

@Eleoura That’s amazing and adorable!!! Thanks!

@zedders Oh God, I would have been just sobbing up on the podium, ha. Good on ya.

@Marmite27 Right, do you happen to remember the location of the office… and know if they had very good security…

Just a quick update: the cleaner texted that it was an accident (they got wrapped in the sheets) and she didn’t see them until after. These things happen sometimes, so it’s all right.

I’m glad that the platypus family will all be ok. I have EDS and sleep with a big stuffed octopus to stop my collar bones dislocating whilst I sleep. DH purchased a girlfriend for Inky the Octopus for our anniversary this year, she’s called Pinky. No babies yet but...

@Marmite27

Oh no! Surely someone took them home? Isn’t that on all business continuity plans? Laptop, phone, platypus?

Inky and Pinky!

I don’t have any stuffed animals, but this thread is making me wish I did...

Here's my much loved platypus. Having seen how easy it is to clean soft toys on The Repair Shop, I think it's about time I gave him a bit of grooming...

Well now he's been through a pretty jolting time and he needs cuddles from you!

@RightYesButNo
You really need to dry them thoroughly otherwise they'll be fusty/mouldy
Either tumble gently or get the radiators on!

Love babyP too! Glad he escaped!

@TheGonnagle Yes! I completely understand we could maybe use some kind of specially designed pillows maybe for these pains, but they wouldn’t have as much personality, and sometimes stuffed animals are the right shape! But then I tried to “hug” something smaller this platypus while sleeping and apparently that’s bad for your chest muscles.

@TheSilveryPussycat Ah, he’s lovely! Yes, I know all about how they SHOULD be groomed now, ha.

@KidneyBeans Yes, I suspected that was the case. This may prove the most important part so I’m hoping to dry him close to but not on the radiator tonight. I’ml afraid a tumble dry might be worse.

I’ve totally got platypus FOMO now…..

(I have a penguin…but he’s a cushion….strictly…..and most definitely not a toy…..😬)*

*ok I snuggle him

How is the platypus rehab going today?

@Blankspace4 Platypus and Furious P are seeming much less damp, I think. Perhaps will ask some builders I saw downstairs today. I’ll invite them in for a cup of builder’s tea to talk shop about damp. Meanwhile, Tiny Playtpus is now perhaps the only platypus to have gone through an MRI. He handled the whole experience much better than I did (he was supposed to stay in my bag, but pre-MRI, they tried to place an IV very, very, very unsuccessfully, so out he came).

I hope your MRI went ok. I know they can be incredibly claustrophobic. God bless baby platypus

Oh OP, so glad you had tiny P for that! Hope you are recovered from that now. (MRIs are no fun anyway, so )

Ooh, ouchy re the unsuccessful IV placement - glad Tiny P was there to help you out!

We have a tiny bear who came free at a jewellery store decades ago. We love him deeply - he has a name and a personality, and has been through the mill with us over the years.

He once fell behind a cupboard, - we spent days emptying out the bins and searching and trying not to be upset. I even found a "backup" version on eBay, but it wasn't the same. It was SUCH a relief when we found him again.

I'm so glad your little friends have recovered OP!

Glad the platypus is on the road to recovery. Whatever gives comfort in difficult times is priceless. DH has a little platypus we bought in Australia - we couldn't believe how tiny they were when we saw them swimming. Like your baby one.

On the topic of special animals, my friend's mum made her a velvet cat that she had to scratch to get to sleep (we're talking in her 20s, not as a little girl). On her honeymoon in the Maldives, she accidentally left catty in her bed and housekeeping changed their bed. Like your husband with the hairdryer, her husband searched through four industrial wheelie bins of dirty sheets to find catty. I can't remember whether he found her or her mum made another one. She lost catty 2 on a ski trip and (very meanly I know), we used to tease her that catty 2 was so cold and struggling to stay awake as it made her a little teary.

I hope the platypus gets back its mojo and rises again like a magnificent phoenix...

My sharks are delighted to hear that the Platypus family are all back to heath again. They felt a small drink was in order to celebrate.

❤

@YoTheGinPussyOfThigh

My sharks are delighted to hear that the Platypus family are all back to heath again. They felt a small drink was in order to celebrate.

@kin432 You’ve seen them swimming?!? That was my fantasy! To swim with them at the Healsville Sanctuary; I think it’s the only place you can and if anyone else wants to, you should! Go for me! I wish I’d gone before I got too sick. I’ve watched videos online but now I’m not well enough to fly to Australia (not something that can be “helped” with any amount of medical equipment for the flight). It’s so amazing. There’s one just great video online where the platypus is swimming in and out of the trainer’s hands (I suspect the trainer had treats, ha) and it’s lovely. I highly recommend it if you like platypuses, or you’re feeling down, or… but yes! They really are only about the size of Platypus or Furious P, maybe slightly smaller.

@YoTheGinPussyOfThigh Cannot even tell you how much it brightens my day that the Platypus family are giving sharks excuses to drink. That’s what it’s all about.

You can swim with them?! Wow. That would be my husband's dream...

These were swimming wild in a river but you're right, they're extraordinary creatures to watch. They are so small and almost look like they're doing a butterfly stroke. You can't really imagine nature creating such an unusual and unique animal.

We saw them swimming in Tablelands.

Could not believe it, we knew there were platypus (platypi?) around that area and asked at a wee shop and got "yeah, mate, just in the playpark"

"What, the kid's playpark"

"Yeah, just behind the swings, the pond's there"

So, we went and sat in the scrubby bushes by the pond at dusk (thinking we'd get arrested for hiding in bushes by a kids playground) - and right enough, up popped four platypuses. They were noisy wee things when they ate their dinner, there was a lot of snuffling, and they were not that graceful in the water - I was expecting something like an otter.

We went back three dusks and dawns in a row and got eaten alive by the insects. But, we didn't get arrested.

Apparently they don't do very well in captivity? So there aren't many in zoos etc because they just die.

There's a very good book by Ann Moyal who talks about the animal being "discovered" by Westerners and a whole lot about their anatomy and habits.

Hope today is a better day for you, Right

@vivariumvivariumsvivaria That’s an amazing story! Hanging out in the bushes by the kid’s play park, ha! But what a great time. I’ve never heard if the book, but I’ll definitely look into it tomorrow as it sounds fascinating.

Hey I hope your platypus is on the road to recovery. Btw IKEA does a lovely white seal. Very squashy huggable. I may have had a good nights sleep hugging my DD one.
And the Disney Sven reindeer cuddly is also epically comfy for cuddles.