RESEDA : Thieves Urged to Return Van for Sick Boy

They are an unlikely pair--an 8-year-old African-American boy with cerebral palsy and a 68-year-old white woman who wants to be his legal mother.

But she has raised the boy since just after his birth and they are close.

And, now, one of the things that brings Robbie Wasdon and Anita Boyance closest together has been taken from them--Boyance’s 1985 bronze Toyota minivan.

The van was stolen Wednesday in front of Boyance’s Reseda apartment complex in the 19300 block of Wyandotte Street.

“We really need that van,” said Boyance, Wasdon’s legal guardian. “Because if he doesn’t have this vehicle, he really can’t go anyplace.”

Caring for Robbie almost since he was born addicted to drugs, Boyance bought the van a year ago to help the boy get to school, doctor appointments and parks.

A widow living on Social Security, she lived with relatives for seven months and sold some of her antiques to scrounge up $6,500 for the van.

Without the van, which was uninsured, Boyance fears that Robbie’s condition will force him to stay shut inside their apartment for the summer. Born with respiratory problems, the boy is unable to venture outside an air-conditioned or smog-free environment.

“He loves being outdoors and we have to go pretty far to get clean air,” said Boyance, who has no other form of transportation. “I could take him to the beach, where he loves the sea air. And it (the van) had air conditioning.”

Boyance also fears the loss of the van will hamper them financially. Moving twice since the Northridge earthquake, she has drained her savings and relied on the van to sell collectibles.

“I have nothing left,” she said.

But she has not lost hope. Robbie, she said, has taught her to have faith. The two met three weeks after his birth through one of Boyance’s eight children, a foster mother. Boyance fell in love immediately with Wasdon.

“I watched him go through withdrawals,” Boyance recalled. “His father was out of the picture. His mother was out of the picture. He couldn’t eat and couldn’t sleep.”

After becoming Wasdon’s legal guardian near his fourth birthday, Boyance feels lucky to be caring for him. “He’s such a joy,” she said.

But the greatest joy she could receive right now, she said, is to have the thieves return her van, no questions asked.

“Please return it,” Boyance said. “We need it so bad.”