A community has rallied to support a young boy with cancer in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, after a shocking crime left him devastated.
Nine-year-old Brayden Tryon, who is battling leukemia, planted a sunflower seed last year with friends to see if it would grow, and it did. For him, it was much more than just a sunflower.
Brayden says he would look at the sunflowers every time he headed for cancer treatment and they would give him hope -- an encouraging sign in the face of tough times.
So, when a thief was caught on camera ripping the flower out of the ground, Brayden was heartbroken.
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But his neighbors weren't having it. They jumped into action, replanting the flowers and tying more to their mailboxes.
"If I have extra in my car, I just pull up to a neighbor and say, 'want some for your mailbox?'" neighbor Darla Leighton said. "Several neighbors have made multiple trips to the stores and just keep decorating."
Brayden and his family have been moved by their neighbors' kindness.
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"When they supported me, it was very helpful and nice," the boy said.
"There’s a lot of times where childhood cancer is just a dark, dark valley and coming down the street now it’s just a joy," his mom said.
Brayden has a year and a half left of treatment still, and his family says this kind of support makes everything just a little easier.
