The chair, along with a nebulizer, were given to 8-year-old Jahzir Walker. It's on loan from Interface, a medical supply company. The original wheelchair is still missing.
Jahzir, or "Jazzy" as his family calls him, has been dealing with cerebral palsy all of his life. On Friday morning he was dealt another setback when his wheelchair was stolen.
"When I came out to put him in the chair, the chair was gone," said Susan Beyer of the Visiting Nurse Group.
Beyer, the nurse that takes Jahzir to school, had placed his wheelchair in front of his home along the 5200 block of Catherine Street, and then went inside to get him.
Ten minutes later, the wheelchair was gone. Police say it is valued at about $4,000.
"I looked around at the people in the neighborhood. A couple of people were weed-whacking," she said. "Nobody saw anything."
It is trash day for this West Philadelphia neighborhood, but both the nurse and Jahzir's mom, Kate, find it hard to believe someone would have thought it was garbage.
The wheelchair had an oxygen tank attached, a bag with Jahzir's respiratory items, and Jahzir's name embroidered along the back.
"I don't really think that they thought it was meant for the trash," said Kate Walker. "They probably thought there was something of value in those bags."
Without the chair, Jahzir is homebound.
"I can't carry him," Kate Walker said. "He's 65 pounds so, you know, we're stuck here."
If you have any clues, call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.
Kate Walker says she does not wish to press charges.
