A specialized wheelchair belonging to an eight-year-old Calgary girl with cerebral palsy has been found in the community of Albert Park.
Police say the wheelchair, a black Tsunami Little Wave XP, was inside a minivan that was stolen in the early morning hours on Thursday.
Mirna Khaled, who spoke with CTV Calgary on Friday, said the wheelchair is essential for her daughter Julia.
""When it was gone, (Julia) said 'This is unfair. This guy stole a part of my body'. I didn't know what to say."
On Friday night, Khaled says she was called by the police who said that the van had been found but the wheelchair was still missing.
"The thief used it to steal other people's things. He didn't know the meaning of the wheelchair and just saw it as a piece of metal. For us, it's a part of my daughter's body, so it's priceless."
She says that she prayed all night for someone to come across the wheelchair and at 8:00 a.m., those prayers were answered.
"I woke up and the police were knocking hard on the door and they had the wheelchair."
Julia says she heard the wheelchair in the hallway when she woke up in the morning and was so excited.
"I thought I wanted to cry but I decided 'no tears'."
She says she appreciates the work of the media and the police who helped recover her wheelchair.
The family's minivan, a silver Dodge Grand Caravan, was also recovered after police located it at the Sunridge Superstore.
The wheelchair was found in a garbage can on 17 Avenue on Saturday morning and has been returned to the family.
