A San Jose mom is asking for the community’s help in locating her son’s wheelchair.
According to Racheal Tiopan, the wheelchair was stolen from her car on Tuesday morning.
In addition, an electric scooter and Tiopan’s AirPods were stolen, but the only thing she wants back is her son’s wheelchair. It’s how he gets around and replacing it could cost upwards of $6,000 and a replacement wouldn’t get to them in time for Thanksgiving.
“It was just all mixed emotions when I realized that it was taken because it's like who is gonna take a chair? Why would you take a chair? It's his legs, its how he's able to get around,” she said.
Tiopan said that she got a call Tuesday morning from her neighbor, saying her car had gotten broken into. She quickly noticed that the wheelchair that belongs to her son Miguel was gone. He was born premature and has cerebral palsy and the chair is specifically designed for him.
“it’s something that he needs. Even to just got out to eat, something that's so simple to do. But he's unable to do that without this wheelchair,” Tiopan said.
The wheelchair also helps protect him.
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“It has a harness because when he shakes, it's secured, it’s his security too,” Tiopan said.
Rachael, Miguel and their family have plans to go to a loved one’s house for Thanksgiving and they are hoping the person who took the wheelchair will return it before then.
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“You can keep everything else, just give us the wheelchair back. I don’t care about the other stuff,” Tiopan said.
