A MOTHER has issued a heartfelt plea to thieves to return medication and equipment stolen from her car which keeps her disabled daughter alive.

Anti-seizure medication and oxygen cylinders were taken from Sam Slocombe’s car outside her home in Hillside Drive, Okehampton in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Sam’s daughter Paige, five, has a rare life-limiting form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome, which causes severe epileptic seizures. She relies on the medication to keep the fits at bay.

‘I’m really gutted and disappointed that someone could do this,’ said Sam. ‘That bag contains everything we have to keep her alive; the equipment really is the difference between life and death.

‘The police don’t think it was a targeted attack, as another vehicle in our road was broken into the same night. However, they have gone and stolen lots of her lifesaving equipment. The police have recovered some of it but not all of it.

‘My eldest daughter said to me this morning “all this stuff is important, that stuff keeps Paige alive, I don’t want her to die.” We are left without portable oxygen and resuscitation equipment.’

She said she was also worried about the medication falling into the wrong hands.

‘They have stolen controlled drugs and if someone takes them they could go into respiratory attack. I’m worried that if it is children or teenagers it could be serious.’

Sam said the thieves had also stolen a bag of her daughter’s toys from her car, which she left unlocked by accident after a gruelling day.

‘We went to a friend’s house and Paige had a massive seizure. She stopped breathing and I was struggling to keep her airway open. We had to call the air ambulance out. Then this happened on top of all that.

‘We have got massive oxygen tanks at home but they are not portable which means we are confined to the house. I’m on edge with not having my usual stuff which I need to take care of her.’

Anyone who has information is urged to contact Okehampton Police by calling 101 or email [email protected]