Michelle Molina, 18, depends on her $6,000 custom wheelchair to get around.
Molina suffers from Rett Syndrome, and cannot speak.
Each night, her mother would chain the heavy wheelchair to a fence outside their Jackson Heights apartment.
She was heartbroken after waking up the day after Christmas to realize someone had cut the chain and stolen the wheelchair.
"The wheelchair is designed for my sister's needs. She has scoliosis," said Michelle's sister Giselle. "So the wheelchair is designed to keep her back straight and it has a head support and a seatbelt, so she's just really upset. She doesn't understand why anyone would take it."
Molina has been using a borrowed wheelchair since the theft, but her family says it doesn't meet her needs.
Her family is hoping the thief will have a heart and return the customized wheelchair before school starts up again next week.
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