COAL TOWNSHIP -- A thief in Northumberland County sank pretty low. Police say someone stole a wheelchair from a veteran near Shamokin who had his leg amputated.
Martin Glover, 70, is a Vietnam veteran from Coal Township who depends on his wheelchair to get around. Earlier this week he was at the hospital preparing to have one of his toes removed. When he and his wife Josephine got back to their house on East Chestnut Street, they noticed Martin's wheelchair was missing.
“That's very low to take away an invalid's wheelchair from him,” Josephine said.
Josephine says she set the wheelchair outside the house because her husband used a different one while at the hospital. Martin's left leg was amputated four years ago and because his wheelchair was stolen, he had to put on his prosthetic leg and walk.
“My husband had to walk up the alleyway and I came with the walker and put it in front of him,” she said.
“Oh, I'll tell you. My foot is sore still, just from walking up still,” Martin said.
Luckily the couple has an older wheelchair they say Martin can use temporarily. He suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and he has a weak heart.
Martin says the walk inside was painful.
“There wasn't enough morphine to take.”
The story does have a happy ending. The Northumberland County Area Agency on Aging is donating a wheelchair to Glover. But even so, he says the situation does not sit well with him.
“Whoever took it, I hope they're going downhill and the brakes give out,” he said.