People have a way of touching our lives and sometimes, they may touch millions of lives, even though they never meet face-to-face. That was the case with a six-year-old girl named Joules Smith.
Joules Smith was a well-known young girl on social media. She inspired many with her good attitude toward life but unfortunately, her father came on Instagram on December 9 to give a sad news.
The young girl was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor earlier in the year. It was known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) and was incurable. She was only given nine months to live at the time.
Her father, Joe Smith, shared a short video on TikTok to give the sad news. He said: “Our beautiful little dancing queen passed away”. The video was captioned: “We love you our little dancing queen 💕.”
@gingerjoeandjoules We love you our little dancing queen 💕#dancingforjoules
Joules passed away surrounded by her mother and father in their bed. Joe said that he was very proud to be her father and described her as an ‘absolute inspiration to everyone.’ They are thankful that their young daughter was able to touch the lives of millions of people online.
Her father shared the news after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He went on TikTok, saying that their entire world had changed. Joe said that they had noticed a few things about her and took her to the hospital. That is when the doctors discovered the mass on her brain.
They took her to King’s College Hospital in London, where they learned that the mass was an aggressive type of cancer. This was the very beginning of her journey as a youngster with a terminal and inoperable illness.
During this time, her parents also had to come to terms with the reality of what was taking place. Joe said that she went through treatment to reduce her symptoms but it wouldn’t slow down what was happening.
He said: “She will start to deteriorate and we have got to sit back and watch our beautiful funny little girl fade away.”
@gingerjoeandjoules 💔💔💔💔💔 the hardest video i will ever make 💔💔💔 but wanted you guys to know ❤️
He said that his daughter was his dance partner and best friend and would have a difficult time living life without her. He said that he would spend the moments left by her side and ensure that she lived the best life possible.
A GoFundMe page was started after she was diagnosed. The family put their lives on hold to stay by her and to dedicate every moment with her.
Kirk wrote: “We do understand that times are hard but anything will help any money that is raised on this page will go to the Smith family directly to make sure that they are coping and Joules has everything that she needs ❤️.”
The page raised more than $120,000 and Joe was thankful for the financial support they received. He was also thankful for the videos that were shared to raise awareness of childhood cancer ever since her disease was diagnosed.
A TikTok trend was even started; ‘Dancing for Joules’ to help spread awareness about terminal illnesses in children. Joe said: “Please, if you are going to do anything, please let’s carry on dancing for our beautiful little Joules because I know she would still be dancing.”
About a month before she passed away, he went back on TikTok to let her followers know she didn’t have much time left. He said: “They have given us the possibility of weeks. We have managed to give her the best five, six months she has ever had. Unfortunately, our journey is going to come to an end.”
@gingerjoeandjoules 💔Why is life so cruel💔thank you so much to all our followers for your support ❤️#danceforjoules
Both the father and mother thanked everyone that supported them through the difficult months. The mother wrote: “We are so proud of your princess you made this world a better place…we are absolutely heartbroken.”
