Mother pleas for return of two-year-old Mia's wheelchair after theft in Limerick

Two-year-old Mia Farrell, who was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, is paralysed from the ribs down.

A Limerick youngster has been left without her wheelchair for Christmas after thieves stole it from the family car near her grandparents’ home on Monday.

Two-year-old Mia Farrell, who was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, is paralysed from the ribs down, her mother Sarah Farrell told Limerick Today on Live 95.

Thieves stole Christmas presents as well as money from the Jeep, which was parked at Sarah’s mother’s house in Knockainey, a village in south-east Limerick between Bruff and Hospital.

The wheelchair is vital for Mia and her quality of life, according to her mother.

“It's only a second-hand wheelchair which we got off a lovely family in Dublin.

"It fitted Mia perfectly, and it's so hard to get something to fit her perfect, over her being paralysed, she is falling out all the time.

"This is absolutely perfect for her,” Sarah told the radio programme.

“I was only back from doing all my shopping in town, my sister came in to help me with Mia, because she is hard work.

To come home then for everything to be taken, and most importantly her wheelchair, that is all we think about.

The theft occurred around 5.50pm, Sarah said. There were a number of cars in the village at the time, which hopefully would lead to witnesses, she said, but that had not proved to be the case as yet.

The whole theft took place within a 20-minute timeframe, she added.

Because the car was open, Sarah and her husband Martin Farrell are not covered by insurance for what is lost, she said.

However, it is the wheelchair that they want back more than anything for Mia, who will be three in January.

“It is heartbreaking,” Sarah said.

The wheelchair is small, with tape and flowers on the back handle, and the rest is plain black.

Sarah said the goodwill from the public was wonderful, with people offering financial assistance, but it was not about that.

The wheelchair and its return is the focus, she said.

“We want her wheels back. We want Mia’s independence back...these are Mia’s legs and how she gets around...We don’t care about anything else, we only want her wheels.” 

Gardaí in Bruff can be contacted at 061-382940.