'Porch pirates' steal 4-year-old boy’s supply of life-saving medicine - a week before Christmas

'We have gotten so much love and so much support that I just couldn't believe it'

Mr Taylor said he was ready to sell his truck to replace the stolen medicine (Fox News)

They call they porch pirates - people who cash in on the popularity of online shopping and the resulting large number of packages that get delivered and left outside people’s doors.

Presumably, the people who stole a package that had been delivered and left outside the home of four-year-old Austin Taylor did not realise what they were taking - a three-month supply of life-saving medicine he needs to stop his body rejecting a transplanted kidney.

Either way, the package containing medicine worth $5,000 was taken from outside his home in Riverdale, Utah, a week before Christmas. If was the first time the drugs had been been stolen off the porch.

The boy’s father, Cody Taylor, told NBC that he received a notification that a new dose of medicine had been delivered.

“Usually as I get that, I expect to see the boxes as I pull up, but there was nothing there,” Mr Taylor said.

Very quickly, he realised the package had been stolen and he panicked that the insurance company would not cover the cost of replacing it.

“Luckily my SUV is paid off. I was prepared to take out a loan and pay for the medication outright,” Mr Taylor said.

As it was, his insurance company did pay for new medicine and Mr Taylor said he was been overwhelmed by the support he received from the community.

One company, called The Porch Locker, donated a lock box for the little body’s medication to be delivered to in the future.

The youngster was born with a host of both defects and doctors were unsure about how long he would live.

When he turned four over the summer, his father wrote a message on Facebook about his son’s tenacity.

“1,461. It may seem like an odd number to post on Facebook. But this number holds more meaning to our family then you realise. This is the number of days Austin has gone beyond the doctor’s life expectancy,” he wrote.

“1,461 days full of smiles trials and accomplishments, of progress and setbacks, of tears, fear and hope. 1,461 days of being thrown up on. All the trials seem so small when we look at what he has done. He is taking, walking and eating - three things the doctors said he would never do. He watches and learns, and tries so hard to normal. This has been our smoothest year yet, with so much to look forward to. Happy 4th Birthday my son, my little hero.”

His message for the people who stole his son’s medicine was blunt.

“You don't know who you're hurting by your actions,” he said. “It could range from ruining someone’s Christmas to threatening someone's life. You just never know.”