Parents seek help replacing special needs wheelchair

By Stacey Cameron, NEWS 9

Blake Lambert, who suffers from cerebral palsy, recently became the victim of theft when someone took his wheelchair from his parents' car.

"It's a special needs wheelchair," Blake's mother Kenetha Charboneu said. "It has a harness on it so he can ride the school bus."

Without his chair, Blake won't be riding the school bus this year. According to Charboneu, the chair went missing during the weekend.

"Someone stole his wheelchair out of the back of my van," Charboneau said.

Blake's parents are left trying to find a mode of transportation for their son to get back to school this fall. While the person who took the wheelchair may not know who it is they hurt, Blake's mother is desperate to find a simple way to explain what happened to her special son.

"They'd have to be pretty desperate for money or something," Charboneau said. "It's hard with a special needs child, and I just can't believe anyone did that."

Blake's parents said insurance bought his first wheelchair, and it's going to be about $1,000 to replace the chair. It's money that Blake's parents simply don't have.

Because Blake's chair is a special needs wheelchair, his parents said it had to be ordered and took about 6 months to get. The couple has reported the crime to the police, but has had no luck in finding the thief or the stolen chair.