Porch pirate steals boy's rare cancer medication
A porch pirate was caught on camera stealing a package from a Nevada family — and what was inside the box made the theft especially devastating. A 14-year-old boy's life-changing cancer medication was swiped right off his front porch.
Gage Haynes was diagnosed with a rare cancer when he was 6 months old and now takes eight Ryedapt pills a day for it. "I have Systemic Mastocytosis," Haynes told CBS affiliate KLAS-TV. "It's a rare form of cancer and it's just been happening my whole life, so I'm used to it. Now, we've finally found a way to help it. My whole life there's really been nothing."
The teen has been in and out of the hospital his whole life, but his battle just got a little harder. His family's security camera captured images of a man with a soda can in one hand and an orange in the other nonchalantly take two packages from their front porch Thursday.
"Once I realized that it was my son's medication, then I got upset," said Haynes' mom, Stacey Shavinsky. "You're not just taking pants or a shirt, you're taking something that's keeping someone alive."
Not only is the medication important, but it is also expensive. "I worked really hard to try and get him that. I did financial assistance because it costs $40,000 a month because it's not FDA approved for anyone under 18," Shavinsky said.
Haynes and his family said they don't want attention, they just want the medication back. "It really helps me out a lot. I would feel a lot better, so I can go to school, get good grades, get a job, so just please return it," Haynes said.
The thief is unidentified, and the Shavinsky family is hoping someone will recognize him from the video. Shavinsky is also working with a pharmaceutical company to get assistance for her son.