Family stranded in Kansas City after car is stolen near Children’s Mercy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A family from Southwest Kansas is stranded in Kansas City after they claim their car was stolen over Friday night.

Pedro Arellano said he “Got up at 5:30 in the morning to pack everything else up and it was gone.”

Their Kia Sedona was parked behind the Ronald McDonald house near Children’s Mercy Hospital.

The car contained oxygen tanks, nebulizers and other medical equipment for Arellano’s son, who suffers from DiGeorge Syndrome.

The Arellanos have travelled from Liberal, Kansas, to Children’s Mercy quite often. At one point, they were making the six hour drive every month. Pedro’s three-year-old son, Pedro Arellano Jr., was diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome at birth.

DiGeorge syndrome is genetic and can cause heart abnormalities. ”So that caused the two main arteries into his heart, they’re reversed.”

We’ve just been through a lot,” Arellano said. “In December, we almost lost him. He caught the RSV. We only have two pediatricians in our hometown. she was doing everything she could and didn’t know if he was going to make it. And he pulled through.”

Pedro, his wife, four-year-old Eliyanah, Pedro Jr. and eight-month-old Elysha are now stranded in Kansas City.

They will need to be in Wichita on Tuesday for another appointment for Pedro Jr. His father told FOX4 that while his insurance policies will cover some of the cost, the rest will have to be paid out of pocket.

They have started a GoFundMe to help cover some of the costs: