A little girl’s dream of walking has been thrown into doubt after thieves stole her wheelchair and walking frame.
Six-year-old Tyla Anguige, who suffers from cerebral palsy and moves by crawling, had been making excellent progress ahead of a pioneering operation at Leeds General Infirmary next week to help her to walk.
But her mother Chrissy Jackson fears the theft of her tiny wheelchair and made-to-measure walking frame will impact on her recovery. Ms Jackson said the frame is vital for her daughter’s physiotherapy.
“She is a really, really brave little girl and she doesn’t deserve this,” she said. “Tyla is amazing, she doesn’t get down about anything that is wrong with her and she doesn’t complain.”
Tyla has spastic diplegia, which means the muscles in her legs are stiff and she moves by crawling.
Raiders drove off in the youngster’s disability car, which was parked outside her Bradford home and contained the wheelchair and frame, in the early hours of Wednesday.
Ms Jackson, 25, said the thieves have taken what little independence her young daughter had.
“They are heartless, cruel, and have kind of shattered what should have been a really happy time for us,” she said. “It has really ruined our lives at the moment, the kids are scared to go to bed.”
Ms Jackson, who lives with partner Darren Anguige, Tyla and son Jensen, four, said Tyla is due to undergo spinal surgery next week, aimed at releasing elasticity in her muscles but the walking frame would be crucial for her recovery.
A television, laptop, iPad and iPods were also stolen in the raid along with the family’s white BMW 1 series convertible containing Tyla’s equipment. Detective Inspector George Bardell, of Bradford South CID, described the theft as “heartless.”
Tyla was born 12 weeks early with brain damage and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy just before her first birthday.
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