Mother of sick girl pleads for stolen cell phone

PLANTATION, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida mother is asking for the return of her cell phone for the irreplaceable videos and photos of her now sick daughter that were on the memory card.

Melissa Vazquez noticed her phone was missing while she and her cousins were at Passion Nightclub at the Seminole Hardrock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Sunday morning.

Losing her cell phone has frustrated Vazquez but not because of the phone itself. "The phone is materialistic. That can be replaced, but my memories won't be able to be replaced," she said.

Vazquez' cell phone contained videos and pictures of her 3-year-old daughter Jaylee, before Jaylee became unable to move. "She lost her smile, I have pictures of her smiling. She lost the ability to speak, she was able to say Mama and Daddy. I have no memories of that now," she said.

Jaylee was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 when she was 4 months old. "It's tough. There's no cure. Kids usually don't make it past 2, and she's 3, so we're very blessed that she's made it this far, and we're just going to keep fighting," she said.

The memories on Vazquez' phone are the only remaining memories of her daughter before the disease. Those memories are the reason Vazquez is desperately trying to find her phone and pleading with the person who might have it. "I've tried everything. Went on Facebook and told all my friends and call it, text it, beg this person to give me my phone back," she said.

Vazquez tracked the phone on the Internet to a home in Miami. She contacted the police hoping they could help her get phone back, or at least the memory card that holds moments the mother will never be able to experience again. "She's not promised tomorrow, so if I could keep those memories it would be amazing," she said.

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