The first thing you notice are her smoky-blue eyes.
They seem to grab your attention, forcing you to gaze into them instead of noticing the round faced five-year-old is bald.
She is Angelyn Paradis, the daughter of Richard Paradis, 26, a former Dresden resident.
The child with the big smile has just completed the second round of a six-session chemotherapy regime at the Maine children’s Cancer Program at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland.
Angelyn has a rare form of ovarian cancer.
Her father is unemployed. He used to work for the Maine Department of Transportation as a member of a road crew. He has little money and drives a car with an uncertain future.
Her cousin, Autumn Lilly, 26, of Golden Ridge Road in Alna, is organizing a walk to help the father and his daughter with expenses. The walk is scheduled for Damariscotta on July 31. The event will leave at 10 a.m. from the parking lot behind the Damariscotta Police Station on School Street.
Lilly is also gathering sponsors for the event and is selling raffle tickets for prizes. She asks those who wish to participate, purchase raffle tickets or donate prizes to call her at 380-5481.
The Paradis’ family tale began at their third floor walk up apartment in Oakland, a suburb of Waterville.
On March 21, Angelyn told her Dad she had a tummy ache. It was not an ordinary tummy ache.
“The pain was so intense, I took her to Inland Hospital in Waterville. A doctor there looked her over and told us nothing was the matter,” Paradis said. “He told me don’t come back until it is an emergency.”
Two days later, the pain returned.
“She was screaming, so I took her back to Inland and they did a CAT scan and found a tumor on one of her ovaries. They put us in an ambulance heading for Maine Medical Center in Portland,” Paradis said.
On the way, the tumor ruptured, putting the child in more pain.
At Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, they rushed her into the emergency surgical suite and removed the tumor.
The Paradis’ were told there was a 50 percent chance the cancer would come back and it did.
Since that time, Paradis and his daughter have been shuttling back and forth to Portland for chemo treatments.
“My hair started to fall out, so Daddy gave me a buzz cut,” said the bright eyed child as she sat on her father’s lap. “Then the prickley bits fell out too,” she said.
Now, she is undergoing weeklong chemo treatments.
“Her next chemo treatment is scheduled for July 6, but the doctors say they may do another surgery first. We are not sure what the exact schedule will be,” said Tracy Rowe, the child’s grandmother.
In the mean time, her father gives her a shot every morning to build up her white blood cells.
He says he spends a lot of time cleaning the tiny apartment he shares with a friend, and his two children, Angelyn, and Gavyn, 3. Health care professionals say the apartment must be kept as clean as possible to help ward off infections.
The children’s mother is no longer in the picture, grandmother said.
The father says he can no longer work, as he has to care for his daughter. Overnight, he says an inadvertent scratch can trigger an hour-long nosebleed that can be triggered again, as the child needs to blow her nose.
The father is getting help from Maine Care with the medical bills, but he is worried about covering transportation costs. The grandmother says family members are helping to pay other bills.
“Right now, Angelyn is doing good. She has been home from the chemo treatment for several days and says she feels good,” he said, last week.
“She is just amazing,” said her grandmother. “She is so positive, she is helping us get through this ordeal.”
When Angelyn, who is wearing her special “Dora the Explorer” PJs, (and has a Dora video on the tube), is asked to sit next to her dad for a photo, she quickly worms her way under his arm and produces a huge smile when he surrounds her with his right arm.
She stared at the camera then flashed a wide smile at her father.
“Oh Daddy,” she said.
