JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The return of the golf cart she relies on to get around brightened Mary Romeo's Thursday morning. The Westside woman suffers from arthritis and osteoporosis and said she needs her golf cart.

The cart was stolen Tuesday evening from outside Romeo's home. She said she plugged it in to charge the battery and an hour later is was gone.

"It took a lot of nerve to come up to my gate and take my cart off," Romeo said.

Slowed with arthritis, Romeo said she needs her golf cart to take out the trash and pick up her mail. While the golf cart was missing Romeo had to use her walker to get around, but it was not nearly as easy.

"I'm in pain all the time," Romeo said.

Police found the golf cart abandoned, and a local towing company picked it up and returned it to Romeo on Thursday.

Romeo said the return of her golf cart means the return of her independence.

"These are my feet, my legs. It gets me where I need to go. I can run away from home on it too," Romeo said. "I'm glad. I hope that something touched their hearts to leave it. I hope they know how much it means to me, and I'm sorry they took it."

The unfortunate news is that Romeo can't rev up the cart's engine. She said her next step is to restore the golf cart to working order.

"I'm not going to leave the keys in the ignition no more that's for sure, and I'm going to get a pokey old German Shepherd and let him watch it for me; that's what I'm looking for -- an old pokey German Shepherd to be my buddy and he can ride up here with me," Romeo said.

Channel 4 has received an outpouring of support from viewers wanting to help Romeo. Some viewers even offered their services to get the golf cart running again, and the station and Romeo appreciate the numerous offers.

One person, a woman from Palatka, agreed to swap golf carts, and that's what Romeo said plans to do. The exchange will happen on Friday.