We were set to fly back to our country after my grandfather suffered a stroke rendering his left side paralyzed, to seek cheaper medical treatment/rehab. My grandma, not thinking about the possibility of theft, stored her jewelry inside her ‘padlocked’ check in baggage. She planned to sell her remaining jewelry back home to help pay for my grandpa’s future medical bills. It was worth around 10,000 US dollars. Long story short, when we arrived at our destination we found out that the bag was  forcibly opened and the jewelry nowhere to be found (it was stored inside the bag’s concealed safety pocket), and a note from the TSA explaining how they examined the contents of the bag, without any mention of the missing jewelry. 

I know my grandma made an error in judgement, but to the TSA official responsible for the theft, I hope that you will someday realize the error of your ways and save someone else from further  burden and suffering. My grandpa didn’t get adequate therapy because of that setback. That money would have paid for a year worth of therapy. And we had no choice but to return to the US with hardly any improvement in his physical condition. 

By: Joseph