When their then four-year-old son Michael was diagnosed with a form of cancer known as Rhabdomyosarcoma in April 2006, the Sikora family of Elmhurst quickly saw their world turned upside down. Michael endured a year of treatment which included chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, followed by more chemotherapy. Today, Michael is no longer in active treatment but is still required to visit the doctor every three months for checkups and CT scans.  We recently had an opportunity to visit with Michael, now an eight-year-old student attending Elmhurst’s Emerson Elementary School, and with an assist from his mother we learned just how much the Treasure Chest Foundation can mean to families like the Sikoras who are battling childhood cancer.

POTCF: Can you tell us about the hospitalizations and the clinic you visited?

Michael: We went all the time to Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago.

POTCF: What was the worst part of treatment for you and your family?

Michael: Getting chemo, because it made me feel sick a lot.

POTCF: What is the best part, if there is a best part, of the clinic/hospital?

Michael: The toys that they would give me that I got to take home.

POTCF: Can you tell us about the treasure chest in the clinic?

Michael: I remember going to a big white toy box and I got to pick out a new toy every time I came to the hospital in the big city.

POTCF: How did knowing Michael was going to receive a toy help you and your son?

Mrs. Sikora: The Treasure Chest was a great motivator for us and always put a smile on Michael’s face. Many times we were asked by family and friends, “How does Michael act when he has to go to the hospital? Is he angry? Does he complain?” And while there were times when Michael wouldn’t want to go, most of the time he said, “Okay, does this mean I get to pick out a new toy?” Because of the treasure chest we were always able to say yes, so it never became a battle. Then after every chemo treatment, transfusion or radiation treatment, Michael would get his toy and we would see his smile.

POTCF: Can you tell us about some of your favorite toys from the Treasure Chest?

Michael: My favorite toy was a green alien that I got after I had a “milkshake.” (Mrs. Sikora explains that a “milkshake” is the anesthesiologist’s term for the medicine Michael received to help him get to sleep before the radiation treatment.)

POTCF: Did you ever have to spend the night in the hospital and what was that experience like for you?

Michael: We stayed at the hospital a lot. Sometimes it was bad because I had to get chemo and that made me feel yucky. But I also got to play video games and watch TV and I got to pick out a new toy.