The Rock, Other Stars Surprise Oak Forest Kid Who Has Cancer

OAK FOREST, IL — In September 2017, Courtney Silha received the most shocking and unexpected news she's ever gotten. Her 6-year-old son, Liam Anderson, had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

"I don't even know if there's a word to describe how it felt to hear his diagnosis," Silha said. "Everything stopped. We've never had cancer in my family before ... so this was totally new to all of us. And then for it to be Liam was really hard."

The Oak Forest resident said despite the challenges her son is facing with cancer, she wants Liam to live a normal childhood.

A friend connected her with Kurt DeGroot and the Project Fire Buddies, an organization in which firefighters work to create a relationship with families battling childhood cancer or other life-changing illnesses.

Now 9, Liam has undergone various treatment over the last 1,206 days. Liam completed his final treatment on Dec. 26. To celebrate, Silha and Project Fire Buddies managed to pull off a surprise that even they didn't expect to happen.

"I had this idea for a year of getting videos together and trying to include any celebrity that I knew Liam loved," Silha said. "I had asked Kurt for his help to get somebody in particular. I gave him a list of Liam's favorite celebrities and superheroes, and said if we can get even one person on this list it would be amazing."

The Fire Buddies sprang into action. Not long after sending out the emails, the team received a response from Jack Black, star of "Jumanji," one of Liam's favorite movies. Excited to receive a response, Silha and the Fire Buddies weren't expecting the amount of other submissions they were about to receive from some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Liam got a video message and a care package with "cool gear" from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Johnson also sent some of his branded tequila for the Fire Buddies firefighters.

It didn't stop there. "Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot, "Guardians of the Galaxy" star Dave Bautista, Jim O’Heir from “Parks and Recreation” and more sent in videos to celebrate Liam's end of chemotherapy. See their videos on Project Fire Buddies' Facebook page.

"I was happy enough with Jack Black. I thought, 'He loves Jack Black! This is it, this is all I needed.' but then they just kept coming in ... and it was amazing," Silha said. "I would just sit and stare at my screen and cry. I didn't know what to feel. It was absolutely amazing what the Fire Buddies were able to accomplish."

Silha said the surprise was the hardest secret she has ever had to keep. On the day of the surprise, she said Liam was blown away and didn't suspect a thing.

"He was very shocked and really overwhelmed. We had over 100 videos come in from friends and family, and some were people we didn't even know," Silha said. "After the night had concluded, we sat and watched the videos, just the two of us. He told me, 'I can't believe this happened to me, Mom, this is so cool.' He felt like he was the coolest kid in the world."

Silha said Project Fire Buddies is now part of her family, and she will forever be grateful for the work they do to help kids and families in need.

"At this point, they have been seen everything that Liam's gone through, and they've just always been there as a helping hand in any way they possibly could," Silha said. "I am forever grateful to Kurt and everybody at the firehouse for everything that they've ever done."

The Fire Buddies also distributed Christmas gifts to families across suburban Chicago on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23. Making nine stops, the gifts and checks delivered totaled over $25,000. Stanley Cup 2010 champion Brent Sopel of the Brent Sopel Foundation — a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial and educational assistance to kids with dyslexia — came along with the Fire Buddies, signing autographs and taking pictures.

The Fire Buddies recently started an Oak Lawn chapter and hopes to expand to other towns in the area next year. DeGroot said the goal is to have Project Fire Buddies expand nationwide.

"We are so humbled by all of this," DeGroot said. "No one else is benefiting from this organization growing but the families and kids battling illnesses."