HISTORY OF MIKEY'S WAY FOUNDATION
Mikey, a National Honor Society student, was motivated to start the Mikey's Way Foundation based upon his experiences during his almost two-year cancer treatment while at Yale-New Haven Hospital (Pediatric Division) in New Haven, Connecticut and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital in New York City. His treatment consisted of seven extremely high dose rounds of chemotherapies, two major surgeries, stem cell transplant and 17 radiation treatments. Such exhaustive treatment resulted in his development of veno-occlusive disease, a life-threatening complication of intensive cancer treatment.
As a result of his many, many months spent in the hospital, he learned that a child's physical health was greatly affected by his mental health. He further believed that the intense boredom, which accompanies cancer treatment, can be alleviated to a large extent by interesting and educational, interactive electronic games for children and by the improvement of hospital entertainment facilities designed specifically for them (for example: computers, televisions, DVD players). When approached by the Make-A-Wish Foundation (Connecticut Chapter), Mikey determined that he would use the proceeds of a shopping spree offered by Mike-A-Wish for the purchase of electronic games for pediatric cancer patients and for improvement of entertainment facilities on the pediatric hospital floor or division.
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