It's been a rough few days for 10-year-old Alassandra, her mom Jacquelyn, and stepdad Tom. Three days after Christmas, Alassandra became painfully ill with an unexplained high fever that brought her to the A.I DuPont Hospital for Children. During one really bad night, both parents stayed at her bedside.
The next morning, Tom headed home. He needed to get a change of clothes and some other things, but when he pulled up, he noticed something big was missing.
The family's second vehcile, a green 1999 Jeep Cherokee, was gone. Someone had broken into the home through a basement window and ransacked the house. They took a laptop, video camera, and Alassandra's gifts that were left under the tree.
"Basically all of our Christmas gifts are gone, Grinch stole Christmas from a little girl," Tom said. "It's not the material cost to us. We're fine. It just kicks you in the gut."
Certainly, the family would like to get their Jeep back. The vehicle has a classic Delaware license PC126216. They would also love to recover some jewelry with a sentimental connection left to Alassandra by her great grandmother.
"Actually, the first thing my daughter Alessandria asked when she heard someone broke into the house, 'I hope they didn't take the things Nana left us' and they did," Jacquelyn said.
Tightly clutching her little stuffed dog Brownie, Alassandra says she is feeling better.
As for the stolen presents, she thought back to when her mom first got word of the loss.
"I thought I was dreaming, because she was really upset. She went down the hall and I didnt' know what was wrong, so I kind of thought I was dreaming," Alassandra said.
Not a very sweet dream for a little girl.
