COVINGTON, Ky. — After her car was stolen with her son's wheelchair inside, a Northern Kentucky mother said both have been recovered just in time for her son's field trip.
Chelsey West said the road hasn't been easy for her and her kids, and realizing her car had been stolen was a gut punch.
"My life just sucks. I've had really bad luck," West said.
One week ago, she left an unhealthy situation. She and her three children temporarily moved in with a friend in Covington. On Thursday, she was hit with another burden.
"She walked in bawling her eyes out screaming, crying, 'The cars gone, the cars gone,'" said 11-year-old Branson.
Branson said he was nervous he wasn't going to be able to go anywhere anytime soon after the theft. Now, he's back to moving around.
"It feels great,” Branson said. "Because without my chair that day, I just felt empty ... because my chair is my life."
Back in 2015, West got into a bad car crash that left Branson and another child paralyzed. He's been in and out of the hospital ever since.
West said her loved ones have gotten her through life's twists and turns.
“The people around me — my mom, my best friend, these three … they smile through it all,” she said. "(Branson) cracks jokes when he's on his way to surgery number seven in three months. They're the ones that keep me from being totally lost."
For Branson, it's his mom who is his source of strength.
"If I’m ever down, like in a situation like this, she’ll comfort me and she’ll help me out,” he said.
Covington Police Lt. Justin Bradbury said the car was found by Officer Alex Vancini, who has been with the department for three years.
"This basically boiled down to good old-fashioned police work done by the officer on patrol," Bradbury said. "He saw a car that he knew matched the car that had been stolen earlier in the day. He ran the tag and that immediately told him that it was the stolen car."
Nearly $1,500 dollars were donated through the family's GoFundMe and multiple people reached out to WCPO 9 asking to donate wheelchairs to Branson.
"I'm blown away — absolutely blown away," West said. "I was not expecting all of this. I've bawled, I've laughed, I've cried, I've screamed. It's been amazing."
Even though West did get her car back, she’s still missing the key. The donations she received will help fund getting a new one.
"There's so much more good than bad. There really is,' said West. "One person made it bad, but a million people made it better and that's really mattered to us."
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