Few things are harder than battling stage 4 cancer, especially when the patient is a 21-month-old girl.
However, her family’s trip to Atlanta this week for an oncology appointment only left them in worse spirits.
Hailey Allen told Channel 2 Action News that her daughter, also named Hailey Allen, had a 7 a.m. appointment Wednesday to continue her treatment. She's already undergone 35 weeks of chemotherapy for Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
The family, who is from Warner Robbins, stayed at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel on Courtland Street on Tuesday night so they could more easily make the appointment. When they went to their Chevrolet Tahoe early Wednesday morning, the sight made their hearts drop.
A backseat window was smashed, leaving glass all over the toddler’s booster seat.
The child’s medication and medical papers were gone, along with several sentimental items, Channel 2 reported.
“(My husband’s) book bag contains our daughter’s beads of courage that are staples through a child’s cancer journey,” the mother told the news station. “Anytime they have a transfusion, an overnight stay (or) chemo, they get a bead representative of that.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
The family called Atlanta police, who responded to the scene about 7:45 a.m. A laptop, a Nintendo Switch, a pair of sunglasses and an iPad were also stolen from the SUV, police said.
One other thing was taken — a Tile tracking device.
The family told police that the tracker was inside the book bag, and it appeared to be at an address in the city of South Fulton. Officers advised them to go to the house and call 911, so local authorities could respond, according to Allen.
A South Fulton police officer met them at the home, but the man inside the residence would not cooperate.
“(The man told the officer) that he didn’t have a warrant, and that you couldn’t just bust into his house,” the woman told Channel 2.
In a statement, South Fulton police Chief Keith Meadows said his agency is “currently conducting an internal investigation to determine the officer's actions and provide any corrective measures or training to prevent similar instances from happening in the future when crimes cross into different jurisdictions as such.”
He also said investigators are working with Atlanta police to attempt to identify suspects in the case.
Atlanta police released a statement about its involvement, too.
“Our investigators are aware of the family’s attempts to trace the items, and are actively following up to see if their stolen property can be recovered and the responsible parties be held accountable,” the department said.
The Allens just want their daughter’s belongings back, so they can continue fighting for her life without extra worry.
“She has a 20% chance of making it to age 4, and I think that’s the toughest thing for me as her mom,” she said. “There are things in that book bag that mean so much to me.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page for their medical costs.
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