A Note From Clinic This Morning

Aug 28

I am writing this from a clinic chair. Not a hospital chair, exactly. The follow-up clinic, where my son has his survivorship appointments now. The chair is in a small waiting area off the main hallway. It has a window. The window looks at a parking lot.

He is in the back with his oncologist for the appointment. My husband is with him. I am out here for a few minutes, drinking a coffee that is too cold, looking at the parking lot, writing this down.

It is the end of August. The hallway is quieter than it would have been two years ago. The clinic is staffing back up after the summer slowdown. The September push is about to start. The Childhood Cancer Awareness Month team is putting up gold ribbons in the lobby.

I just watched a family check in at the front desk. A mom and a small girl. Maybe three years old. The mom was holding a clinic folder. The little girl was holding a Maxwell's Toy Box Joy Package bag.

I think I made a noise. I caught myself. The mom looked at me. I smiled. She smiled. She did not know who I was. The bag was the bag I had helped pack two months ago at our Friday volunteer night. The bag had a sensory ball and a coloring book and a finger puppet in it.

It was in her daughter's hands. In a clinic. On a Friday morning at the end of August.

I do not know how to write what that felt like.

There is a version of our work that lives in the spreadsheets. 4,024 Joy Packages distributed. 5,197 children supported. 8,573 toys and art supplies delivered. The numbers matter. The numbers are how we tell the story to donors and to ourselves.

There is also a version of our work that lives in a small hand in a clinic lobby on a Friday morning.

He is coming back to the waiting area now. The appointment was fine. We are going home.

Dina
Mom of Max | Founder, Maxwell’s Toy Shoppe
Childhood Cancer Advocate 💛

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Dina Besic

This is a Brave Bag

When a child settles into the chemo chair, a Brave Bag is there to meet them. It's a bundle of comfort and distraction for the hardest days, hand-packed and delivered bedside by Maxwell's Toy Box.

A soft plush friendA building setColoring book & markersA little surprise

Every Brave Bag is funded entirely by proceeds from the Shoppe, never by the toys in your cart.

How Maxwell's Toy Shoppe works

It's shopping with purpose, and every order helps another child smile during a difficult day.

Shop for your child

Browse toys, books, faith gifts, and more. Add your family's favorites to the cart.

We ship to your family

Your order is packed and shipped straight to your home. These toys are yours to keep.

You fund a Brave Bag

100% of proceeds help Maxwell's Toy Box pack and deliver Brave Bags, care packages for children receiving chemo treatment.

Two things happen with every order

What you receive

The toys & gifts you order ship to your home. Yours to keep, play with, and treasure together.

What you make possible

Your proceeds fund a Brave Bag, a care package for a child receiving chemo. Never the items in your cart.

Inspired by our son, Max

When Max was diagnosed with leukemia at just two years old, we learned how much time children spend in hospitals, clinics, and treatment rooms. During those long days, a new toy or surprise often brought comfort, distraction, and something to look forward to.

As Maxwell's Toy Box grew, families asked how they could support our work year-round. So we created Maxwell's Toy Shoppe, a place to shop for the toys, gifts, and faith-based items your family already loves, while helping us deliver comfort and joy to children facing childhood cancer.

Learn about Maxwell's Toy Box →