Sunflowers in memory of two-year-old child raise half-a-million for kids with cancer

Sunflowers planted in the memory of a two-year-old Lambton County boy have begun to bloom on his parent's Thedford-area farm.

It's the latest field to support Miracle Max's Minions, a campaign that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist children battling cancer.

In 2019, Max Rombouts passed away from leukemia. He was just two years old.

Since his death, the number of “Miracle Max's Minions" sunflower fields spread across Lambton County has grown from one to three, with a reported fourth to be revealed shortly.

Inside her patch, Max's mother, Jamie, is overwhelmed.

'I would have never foreseen what it has bloomed into today," she said with a cheerful smile.

To date, funds raised from donations given by visitors to the fields and online have hit $450,000.

A sunflower basks in the sunlight along Jericho Road in Lambton County. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

"A good portion of our funds go to Child Can, and it funds their parking at the hospitals, which are called Max Passes," said Jamie. "So, when a new family has been diagnosed with childhood cancer, a worker from Child Can go in and sees the family and gives a package to help them through their journey."

A journey the Rombouts family, sadly, knows all too well.

And while no sunflower can bring Max back, his big brother Zac believes the 'magic' flower brings him closer.

Zac Rombouts said that the fields of sunflowers remind him of his little brother (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

"Just because, every day I can go out to the road, or when I am going to the bus and look at them, or just walk through them whenever I want and think of him."

Jamie hopes visitors, to all three fields, take a moment to think of those in their own families affected by cancer, disease, or tragedy.

Like Zac, she finds the flowers help with her grief.

"To be able to welcome people to our house and let them enjoy the sunflowers as much as we do, and for us to look out our yard and see the sunflowers this year and remind us of our little boy, that you know isn't with us anymore."

Donations for Miracle Max's Minions are accepted at all Sunflowers fields and online - visit the fields at the following addresses:

• 8909 Jericho Road, Thedford
• 5283 London Line, Wyoming
• 8727 Confederation Line, Watford 

More information is available on the fundraiser's social media pages.