Eight-year-old Steve Huerta held his mother's hand tight as the helicopter took off Thursday morning.

Eight-year-old Steve Huerta of Pomona tries on the chief of police hat while meeting Los Angeles Police chief Charlie Beck at his office in LAPD Headquarters June 24, 2010. Steve, who suffers from Leukimia, had his wish to meet the LAPD granted through the Make-a-wish Foundation. (SGVN/Staff photo by Leo Jarzomb)

Steve flew over downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood sign, the observatory and the Santa Monica Pier.

The flight was part of the little boy's adventures with the Los Angeles Police Department during an event organized by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Steve was diagnosed with leukemia when he was three.

Along with the helicopter ride, he also attended the police academy and got to meet LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who lives in Walnut - not too far from Huerta's home in Pomona.

After the helicopter ride, Steve scrolled through the pictures on his camera.

"I like the beach," he whispered to his mother.

Before the event, Steve thought he was going to to the park with his mother Raquel Suarez, his two sisters, his brother and his cousin.

During Thursday's event, Suarez thought back to when her toddler was diagnosed with the disease, which is a cancer of the bone marrow that interferes with the production of blood cells.

"I don't even want to remember (about those weeks)," Suarez said. "We felt like (the whole family was) going to die."

He spent three weeks in hospital getting treatment.

Lizeth, the oldest in the family, remembers those early years as "scary."

"It was hard," the 14-year-old said. "My parents didn't talk about it but we knew how bad it was."

Although he is doing better now, Steve is still battling the disease.

The officers did their best to cheer him up.

They even gave him his second wish - an Xbox 360 videogame system.

Many of the children who started the treatment with Steve didn't make it. Steve, on the other hand, did. He's healthier now only requiring to get regular check ups every three months. The family views the improvement in his health as a gift from God.

"He's the biggest gift (from God) I have," she said. "I'm so thankful with God for allowing me to keep my son."