Bridget Hughes, a preschool teacher from New Mexico, has a special hat that keeps her warm and comfortable in more ways than just one.
After the 23-year-old lost the brown hat that her mother who died from breast cancer in 1997 wore during her chemo treatment, she took to Facebook in hopes of finding it. But after her post went viral -- with almost 223,000 shares as of Monday evening -- she decided to call off the request for help.
Hughes humbly said she felt the search for the hat got blown out of proportion.
After she lost the hat at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport last week and her Facebook update went viral, she posted the following message:
"Everyone: I emailed Sky Harbor this morning. They are well aware of the fact the hat is missing. They have done a thorough job searching the airport multiple times. I am forever grateful to them.
"In the email, I told them to stop looking for the hat. I did this for two reasons: 1. I firmly believe that it is no longer in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport; 2. I have, from the beginning of this going viral, felt uncomfortable with the hype.
"The hat IS important to me. This IS a good story. Honestly though, there are so many people in this world whose stories deserve to be told. We've got bigger fish to fry than a lost hat.
"This does NOT mean I am giving up hope the hat will be found. I simply think that demanding the airport search more is unreasonable. They have done all they can. The rest is up to God."
Hughes had checked the gate, her hotel and shuttle van but returned empty handed, she wrote on Facebook.
Although Hughes said she is prone to losing things, she didn't want to give up on the sentimental hat, she told the Daily News. In one of the last family holiday photos her mom is seen donning the brown hat, according to the news outlet.
“She would pop it up over her glasses and joke that it was the Indiana Jones look,” Hughes told the Daily News. “I think she used to pull the flap up and down to be silly and to make me laugh,” she said.
Hughes may still be hatless but she said she has gained something from the experience.
“Even if I don’t get the hat back, as cheesy as it may sound, it’s given me a lot of hope for people and knowing that they still have empathy for one another and that people are thoughtful and caring and kind. If nothing else, I feel immensely blessed by this already,” she told the Daily News.
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