Stroke victim robbed of essential talking tool

A visit to the Mount took an unhappy turn for a Palmerston North stroke victim, when his bag containing an important communication device was stolen from him as he rode his mobility scooter to the beach.
Philip Elwin Larking arrived in Mount Maunganui on Friday to stay with his sister Gail Fagan, operator of the Bay Palm Motel on Girven Rd.
On Saturday afternoon, Mr Larking was headed to the beach on the mobility scooter Ms Fagan had hired for him when he dropped his bag.
"He was trying to pick it up when two guys on scooters came along and took off with it," Ms Fagan said.
She said her brother tried to chase after the thieves but his scooter was not fast enough to catch up with their push scooters.
Mr Larking suffered a stroke six years ago and had limited movement on the right side of his body as well as impaired mobility and speech.
"His whole life is in a wheelchair and mobility scooter," Ms Fagan said. The theft was especially devastating because the bag had a personalised talking-book communication device inside which Mr Larking relied on.
Ms Fagan said the talking book was pre-programmed with phrases to make it easier for Mr Larking to communicate things like his name, address and other important information.
There were other items in the bag - a two-month-old digital camera, prescription glasses and a diary with important phone numbers.
But the talking book was the one they really wanted back.
Ms Fagan said the talking-book device, which was about half the size of a laptop with a screen and a full keyboard, was supplied to Mr Larking by the Government because of his stroke.
She was not sure how easy it would be to source another.
The police were notified but after a search of the area were not able to find anything.
Mount Maunganui community constable Gaylene MacFarlane said in cases like this police had to rely on someone's conscience.
"We just have to hope that someone turns it in if it's no use to anyone but the person they took it from," she said.
Ms Fagan was prepared to offer a reward for its recovery.
"I hope that they have got a conscience," Ms Fagan said of the thieves. "They've upset an already sick man trying to recover from a severe stroke. They have probably set him back six months to a year in his recovery."