Car prowlers' haul includes toddler's two $1700 hearing aids Longview Daily News
Car prowlers took more than backpacks and belongings in Castle Rock on Monday — they stole a disabled girl's ability to hear.
Inside a backpack in Shanna Blevins' car were the hearing aids for her 3-year-old daughter Emma. The toddler has several disabilities, including a seizure disorder, inability to eat without a feeding pump and problems seeing and hearing. The two hearing aids cost $1,700 each, and Emma relies on them to communicate and undergo developmental therapy, Blevins said.
So when Blevins came out to her car Monday morning and couldn't find Emma's backpack, her heart just sank. It turns out she was one of several car prowl victims in town that morning, according to Castle Rock Police.
"We're not talking about a typical developing child with a hearing impairment," she said. "That's still a great need, too, but with multiple disabilities this is one of the things she absolutely relies on to communicate and understand commands."
The single mother of two girls is Emma's full-time caregiver. She said she doesn't know how she'll replace the hearing aids. Her health insurance has an annual limit of $400 for hearing supplies, and while she might prevail after challenging that, it could take months for new hearing aids to be approved.
