A 76-year-old Boston man and cancer survivor is asking whoever took his motorized wheelchair to bring it back after, he says, it was stolen outside of his apartment on Massachusetts Avenue.
In a matter of minutes, Paul Quarles went from using a $14,000 motorized wheelchair to a shopping cart for support. He's already fallen several times.
"I fall down a lot," he said.
Quarles is a fighter, beating cancer four times. The disease has rendered him barely able to speak. With his wheelchair being stolen, now he can barely walk.
"He's a gladiator, you know?" said William Lawson, a friend of Quarles. "He's been through a lot of operations and he's still kicking."
Quarles says the wheelchair is worth thousands, but to him the piece of equipment is priceless because it allows him an active lifestyle that’s since been taken away from the 76-year-old.
"He needs it back," Lawson said. "He's moving around, going place to place, and it helps him out a lot."
You can feel his pain just by watching Quarles trying to move around without the wheelchair.
"Look at him," Lawson said. "He needs his wheelchair."
Quarles just wants whoever stole it to return it and leave it outside. He says he won't ask any questions or place any blame.
Lawson, on the other hand, can't understand why someone would do this.
"Angry," Lawson said of how he felt. "People have better things to do than take a man's wheelchair."
A surveillance camera did capture the wheelchair being stolen. Quarels' family is hoping it will help police find the person who took the wheelchair.
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