Elderly woman recovering from violent robbery

HOUSTON

Despite her injuries, the 76-year-old grandmother talked to us from her hospital bed on Wednesday night. She wanted to share the story of her violent robbery so others will shop much more cautiously than she had.

If laughter is the best medicine, Pansy Revel is hoping for a double dose.

"It was just wham! And it was over," she said.

Laughing helps dull the pain from her injuries. At about 10:30am on Tuesday, Revel was finishing up her Christmas shopping and walking to her car outside the Meyerland Plaza Target.

"It was like a -- I don't know a tornado came though -- whoosh! It was quickly over, but I was laying on my back," Revel said.

The 90-something-pound, 76-year-old grandmother describes her attacker as a man at least three times her size. Houston police say she was spun around and shoved to the ground, that he dragged her till she released the purse.

They're looking now for video of the incident from the surveillance cameras in the parking lot. She calls the man who put her in this hospital bed "pitiful."

"I think it's sad that people stoop to this level when things are rough; it's rough for everyone," Revel said.

Scratches and bruises aside, Revel has a broken hip. She's scheduled for surgery on Thursday.

"I think she's lucky to be alive when someone that big picks on someone as old as she is, and as tiny as she is," said Revel's daughter, Debbie Stoots.

Revel is a fighter though, sharing with us some of that laughter and a "thumbs up" as we left.

"I hope at some time or another, he has to pay for the things he's done," she said.

Revel says her case should be a reminder to be aware of your surroundings and to try to shop in groups rather than alone.

Police have not made any arrests in this case. The suspect fled in a waiting getaway car.