A Sheridan family whose car was stolen in Denver over the weekend finally made it back home Monday after an outpouring of support from people along the Front Range and across the rest of the country.
The Fischer family travels to Denver a few times a year for their son Lane’s medical appointments. Lane has Down syndrome, which requires the family to travel far distances such as to Billings, Montana, and Denver for his care.
But after traveling to Denver on Friday, the family’s 1996 Chevrolet van was stolen from a hotel parking lot, along with much of Lane’s equipment, including “two vents and a vent stand and an oxygen concentrator,” as well as five oxygen tanks.
“It is heartbreaking that someone would even think to take, even if it wasn’t his, any handicapped vehicle,” Yvonne Fischer said in a news report. “I just don’t understand.”
The family reached out to Contact7, an affiliate of the Denver Channel, which takes stories of people in need and broadcasts them out to the region. After their story was seen on Sunday, hundreds of dollars poured in from all over the country to help the stranded Sheridan family.
The news channel took the Fischer family to a Denver-area Target and provided them with two new car seats for Lane and his sister and a number of gift cards to help them pay for food and gas to travel home.
“[This is] a little extra to say, ‘Buy some toys, have some fun,'” a Target employee told Ira Fischer. “Bad things happen, but good things come out of it.”
The family was able to reach home safely Monday, but it was unclear if they rented a van for temporary transportation or if they were able to buy another vehicle.
“I will get to sleep in my bed tonight,” Ira Fischer said in the updated report Monday, tears welling in his eyes. “And then we will worry about the other stuff later.”
People looking to help the Fischer family with donations can follow this link, and use the drop down menu to choose “Help Replace Stolen Handicap Van.”
