The mother of a cancer patient is pleading for the return of her child’s medical records.

The mom and daughter were on their way home from another round of chemotherapy at Oakland Children’s Hospital. When they made a quick stop in El Cerrito, a thief broke into their car.

Bella Robinson was diagnosed with brain cancer three years ago.

She’s been in and out of the Oakland Children’s Hospital ever since for chemotherapy.

After her last visit Friday, she and her mom made a stop to by a video game store and coffee for some comfort at El Cerrito Plaza.

But when they came back to their car, the back window was shattered and years of her medical records were gone.

“It was just shocking and unbelievable, and it made me just super upset, of course,” Robinson said. “It made me feel violated and it made me very angry that someone could be so careless.”

Bella and her mom carefully tracked the progress of her tumor and took extensive notes in a notebook that they say are crucial for her treatment.

“We can always get a copy of the printout that they give you, that they give you at the end of the appointment, but you can’t get a copy of what they said to you that can sometimes go on for an hour,” Robinson said. “Questions back and forth and answers.”

Along with the medical records, her mother, who is a pastry chef, had two thumb drives inside the stolen black tote bag with the only copy of hundreds of recipes she was saving for a second cookbook. The single mom and daughter team have braved through a lot in life but now really need the help from the least likely people–the very thieves who burglarized their car.

They beg whoever took their precious files to return them to police no questions asked. 

“Just drop it off, and we would be happy to give a reward and a huge hug for being such a good person,” Mother Cindy Mushet said.

Normally, Mushet says she is more careful, but the two were exhausted after a long day at the hospital.

They were one of three cars targeted in smash-in-grabs at the plaza that day.

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