Karni Liddell has been left isolated after her specially modified car and wheelchair was stolen from her home over the weekend.
Forced to rent a "very expensive" but "very secure" apartment after her Hendra home was flooded in February, Ms Liddell has been left shocked at the latest round of bad luck she had been dealt.
The former Paralympian swimmer and disability advocate has spent thousands of dollars modifying her black Honda Odyssey with a ramp and a hoist so she can easily access private transport.
But on Sunday just before 4pm, CCTV footage shows a teenage boy enter her unit's parking lot on a bicycle before driving away in Ms Liddell's precious vehicle.
"I actually can't believe it to be honest, I'm in shock," she told ABC Radio Brisbane Mornings host Rebecca Levingston.
"[The unit complex] has security cameras, buttons to press in and buttons to press out.
"There are much nicer cars in there than my Honda Odyssey, and mine would have been the cheapest in there.
"This 17-year-old-looking kid who stole it would definitely have seen my wheelchair and a baby seat and a sticker and the wheelchair hoist in the boot."
The thief left his bike behind and, in a positive twist, dumped Ms Liddell's wheelchair nearby.
Despite that, Ms Liddell said she would now have to wait at least six months to order a new car and get it fitted with all the devices she needed to use it.
"Losing my accessible car is actually like losing my wheelchair," the 2000 Sydney Paralympics competitor said.
"My car is worth more than most rich people's cars.
"But it's not just about the money — although now I have to fight the NDIS for it — but it's the time taken to fit it out again.
"All year I've been saying, 'Thank goodness my car was at airport when I got flooded', but now it's been stolen."
Ms Liddell said police "were very surprised that anyone would steal a Honda Odyssey" and added that the thief had hacked into some of her accounts but had not accessed any money.
Readers have been asked to notify police if they spot a black Honda Odyssey with registration 361-XMU.
The vehicle has a blue and white disability parking sticker and another one that reads, 'I'm just in it for the parking'.
