Abraham Family Honors Their Brave Warrior

The Abraham family and friends in Oak Forest gave to children and teens fighting cancer by collecting gifts in memory of Jacob Abraham, a childhood cancer patient who lost his battle and who is continually remembered in the Oak Forest community for courage in the face of tremendous adversity. This is the 7th year the community has come together for this event.

October 17th marked the birthday of one of our own, Jacob Abraham, a little guy whose treatment for childhood rhabdomyosarcoma (cancer) did not go well and Jacob succumbed to the disease on August 19, 2016. Jacob would have been nine years old.

In honor of Jacob Abraham’s 9th birthday his mom Megan decided to ask her loved ones to donate Jacob’s favorite toys from the Treasure Chest Foundation. Some of the businesses that collected toys are Nicky V's Beef and Dogs, formerly known as Doug’s Dogs, Kelly's Healing Touch Massage, Bodywork & Esthetics, Sona Bella and Dona Bella Salon. After the last toy was dropped off, 3,003 items including coloring books, crayons, play dough and toys along with $955 in gift cards and $1,820 was collected for kids just like Jacob fighting cancer. During the past seven years in honor of Jacob’s birthday event has collected an impressive 14,532 items, $3,625 in gift cards and $7,890 to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation.

Jacob’s mother Meghan Abraham said Jacob loved the Treasure Chest at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital. “The Treasure Chest helped Jacob get through painful visits while undergoing treatment for cancer. He would play for hours with play dough, coloring books and crayons. He enjoyed the smaller toys and never picked a large toy out of the Treasure Chest. The Treasure Chest Foundation is part of our family. We will continue to do this every year to celebrate Jacob’s birthday and give back,” said Jacob’s mom Meghan.”

“The Treasure Chest Foundation will be forever grateful to Meghan and her friends and family,” said a grateful and most appreciated Colleen Kisel, Founder of the Treasure Chest. “Yesterday was a bittersweet day. Our hearts ache over the thought of what Meghan has had to endure and yet we are thankful for her love and support.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 15,700 young cancer patients in 65 cancer treatment centers in 21 states across the nation and in the District of Columbia. Nowhere else in the nation does such a program exist. Colleen Kisel founded the organization in 1996 after her then seven-year-old son Martin had been diagnosed with leukemia in 1993. Ms. Kisel discovered that giving her son a toy after each procedure provided a calming distraction from his pain, noting that when children are diagnosed with cancer their world soon becomes filled with doctors, nurses, chemotherapy drugs, surgeries and seemingly endless painful procedures. Martin celebrated his 29th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of this year.

If you would like further information about the Treasure Chest Foundation, please contact Colleen Kisel at 1-708-687-TOYS (8697) or visit the Foundation’s website at www.treasurechest.org.