Earlier in November, a desperate dad in Devon, England, asked for the internet's help for a sippy cup for his 14-year-old son with autism. Marc Carter's post went viral and people from across the world offered to help.
Carter's son, Ben, has severe autism and won't drink from other containers aside from a specific Tommee Tippee sippy cup, which he had since he was two years old, Mashable reported. Check out Ben's original sippy cup below.
This is the cup Ben has and needs lots more of, not different in any way, it has to be identical. Lots of pics to show what I mean :) pic.twitter.com/CpKSHRWKrf
— Grumpy Carer (@GrumpyCarer) November 15, 2016
Carter was worried that Ben's health would suffer if the sippy cup they had breaks down. The 42-year-old father-of-three said that Ben "hasn't drunk at school since the age of five, he doesn't drink outside of the house so we can't go anywhere." In fact, Ben's refusal to drink without his sippy cup led to two emergency trips to A&E because of severe dehydration.
People from all over the world sent dozens of sippy cups similar to what Ben had after reading Carter's plea on social media, which has the hashtag #CupForBen. The interest of the cup's manufacturer was piqued, too and they did the most wonderful thing to help Ben and his dad.
The Northumberland-based Tommee Tippee searched through their old manufacturing plans from their factories for the mold of Ben's sippy cup, Mashable reported. They don't usually keep their cups' molds but thankfully, they found the one Carter was looking for. Tommee Tippee began making cups enough for Ben's lifetime use and now, 500 cups are being shipped for free to Carter for his son, BBC wrote.
The cup production was also down to the overwhelming love and support shown across social channels, so BIG THANKS to you all too. #CupForBen pic.twitter.com/CRd26AGOji — tommee tippee UK (@tommeetippee_UK) November 29, 2016
Tommee Tippee put up a page on their website dedicated solely to #CupForBen. The company assured Ben and his family that they "won't ever have to worry about finding another cup" for the child.
Carter was absolutely delighted and surprised over Tommee Tippee's kindness. In a video posted on YouTube (which you can watch below), Carter thanked the manufacturer and the strangers who sent their sippy cups to Ben. He also said that Tommee Tippee's move gave him "peace of mind," saying that the tiny blue cup "dictates" their life.
He admitted that getting Ben to use the cups is still a struggle because they all appear newer than the old thing he had. Carter, however, is positive that Ben would learn to use his new sippy cups eventually.
