Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Fort Smith (Oct 03/05) - A Fort Smith child has died after a valiant fight against an inoperable brain tumour.

Six-year-old Daynee Paulette passed away Sept. 18 in an Edmonton hospital, where she had been treated since the illness was diagnosed in October of last year.

She was the daughter of Chief Jerry Paulette of Smith's Landing First Nation and his wife, Jayme Helford.

Aunt Delphine Paulette says Daynee was brave in the face of the illness. "She never complained about anything. She never complained about her pain," Paulette says. "She was very brave."

After the illness was diagnosed, Daynee and her family relocated to Edmonton to be close to University Hospital for her radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

However, she and her family recently visited Fort Smith for two weeks, returning to Edmonton on Sept. 14.

"She enjoyed it," her aunt says of the trip home. "She had a lot of family and friends over."

Paulette says Daynee, even though she was unable to walk for the last few months of her life, played games with her friends and liked to do puzzles.

The trip home to Fort Smith was made because Daynee's doctors had advised her parents that the end of her short life was near.

In mid-August, Daynee and her family also travelled to Disneyland in California through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Paulette says Daynee's parents appreciate the outpouring of emotional and financial support from residents of Fort Smith and other communities.

Late last year, fundraising efforts in Fort Smith and elsewhere collected thousands of dollars to help the family with expenses in Edmonton.

"With the support, they were able to make Daynee's life more comfortable," Paulette says.

A memorial service for Daynee was held on Sept. 24 in Fort Smith.