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Devastated mum appeals to thief who stole sentimental hospital pictures of seriously ill daughter
Charlotte Jowett, 22, was heartbroken when she discovered hundreds of photographs of her twelve-week old daughter Olivia had been stolen
A devastated mother has launched an online plea for help after a heartless thief stole precious photos of her critically ill baby - as the newborn was having emergency surgery.
Charlotte Jowett, 22, was heartbroken when she discovered hundreds of photographs of her twelve-week old daughter Olivia had been stolen, on the morning she was rushed into theatre for surgery.
Two weeks ago, Charlotte accidentally left her bag in the canteen at Manchester Children's Hospital for just a few minutes but when she returned, it had gone.
Her mobile phone, which was in her bag at the time, contained images of her daughter's progress since being admitted to hospital aged just two weeks old with a life-threatening condition.
Charlotte posted an appeal on Facebook and her emotional words have been shared more than 100,000 times as social network users, who have branded the theft as ‘despicable’ and ‘disgusting’, helped spread the word.
Charlotte, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, posted: ‘To the person that has stolen my bag from the hospital, if you see this please can you hang my bag to security?
‘You can keep my watch, the money, etc, I just want the bag back, and the pictures of my critically poorly daughter who is only ten weeks old.
‘Please can people share this and maybe someone will see it.’
Charlotte says the photographs, which have documented Olivia's progress since being in intensive care, are ‘irreplaceable’.
‘I can't explain how much they mean to us,’ she added.
‘We almost lost Olivia and she has come such a long way since then - the pictures show just how far.
‘I'm begging whoever has them to hand them in.
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‘I won't be mad - I just want the photos back. They can do it anonymously and I won't try and track them down.
‘I really hope Olivia's story appeals to their conscience. It's an awful thing to have done.
‘I'd been crying in the canteen that morning because Olivia had been rushed in and I hadn't been thinking straight.
‘I'm punching myself now for leaving my bag.
‘Whoever took it has stooped very low.
‘It's a children's hospital and nobody wants to be there.
‘It's hard for everyone and so many families are going through such a tough time.
‘I can't believe someone would steal from a place like that.
‘I'm normally a really positive person and look for the best in people but this has really shaken me.’
Little Olivia was kept in hospital after suffering from intestinal problems following her birth in May.
Aged just two weeks old, Olivia, who was taken to hospital after she went grey and started vomiting, was rushed into emergency surgery where doctors battled to save her life.
Charlotte said: ‘She wasn't herself and she'd stopped eating.
‘Then, all of sudden she lost all her colour and started vomiting faeces so we rushed her to hospital.
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‘She was taken straight into surgery and doctors told us if it had been half an hour later she wouldn't have survived.
‘She was in intensive care for a week and has had five operations but now doctors are hoping she can be home by the end of September.
‘Her intestine has been removed and she now has short bowel syndrome, which means she will always have to be on a special diet but hopefully she will be ok.’
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: ‘We are investigating a case of a woman's phone being stolen from Manchester Children's Hospital.
‘She left her bag in the canteen and when she returned it was gone.
‘We are currently awaiting CCTV images from the hospital for further investigation.’
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A Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS foundation trust spokesman said: ‘We regret any distress caused and are sorry to hear of this incident.
‘We encourage patients and visitors to keep their property safe and attended at all times. If property is stolen, we ask that a member of staff is told as soon as possible so they can then report it appropriately.
‘We would urge the person who may have possession of these highly sentimental photos to return them.’
