A BRAYBROOK grandmother, the sole guardian of her two grandsons who have special needs, has been left housebound after her van, containing a wheelchair, was stolen from Sunshine Marketplace last week.
Barbara Baldwin has looked after her 11-year-old grandson, Jordan, who has cerebral palsy and impaired vision, most of his life and became guardian to her 10-year-old grandson, Jayke, who has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), last year after the boys’ mother died.
Mrs Baldwin said her 1984 Ford Spectron van, which her insurance company will pay her $3000 to replace if the vehicle is not found within 14 days of the theft, was stolen from a disability car park outside Big W while she was in the shops for 10 minutes. She said she reported the theft to the shopping centre security and Sunshine Police. A police spokeswoman said there had been no sightings of the vehicle.
Mrs Baldwin said the car was well known in the western suburbs because she had been a member of the community most of her life, raising her eight children in the area.
She said the van was an essential part of her life in caring for her grandchildren as it was difficult for her to lift 11-year-old Jordon as he weighed about 40kgs.
“It’s (the van) the only thing he can get in to by himself,” she said.
Mrs Baldwin said she has had to cancel doctors’ appointments for Jordon, who has had 17 operations in his life, because she could not afford the taxi fares to run him to the doctors as often as he needs, despite having a concession card.
She said she was financially restrained because she had just finished paying the burial fees for her daughter’s cremation in August, along with making sure the boys had a good Christmas.
Mrs Baldwin said her daughter had five children, with the other three being cared for by their fathers.
