When someone passes away we often approach the family to see if they would like to do a tribute article for the person they have lost.

Sometimes they say “no” and we leave it at that but if they agree it is a chance to tell the life story of their loved one.

It was good to sit down with Maisie Fraser’s mother and sister as they looked back on her tragically short life and I hoped thinking back through the good times helped them at what is a difficult time.

FRIENDS and family of a 19-year-old Inverness woman will today be able to say farewell to her at her funeral which will be held in the city. 

Maisie Louise Cecilia Smith Fraser was born in Inverness at Raigmore Hospital and lived in the Hilton area of the city – since 2007 she lived in Kintail Crescent and before that the family lived in Mackay Road. 

She attended Cauldeen Primary School and later attended Inverness Royal Academy (IRA). 

Maisie enjoyed studying biology, maths, English and also enjoyed PE – however, she was described as being full of mischief and her teachers said she was a “bundle of energy”. 

She stayed on at school and had hoped to go to university – for a long time she hoped to become a vet and also would have liked to be a dentist. 

Maisie was also qualified to teach PE to children with special needs, played football for the Cauldeen Primary School team and later enjoyed playing basketball and hockey with her friends at IRA. 

When she was not at school she enjoyed going out for a meal, she particularly enjoyed eating steak and seafood, meeting her friends and being out and about like a normal teenager. 

She was diagnosed with rare and incurable liver cancer – fibrolamellar carcinoma – in December 2020 and the doctors found that it had also spread to her lungs. 

Maisie was treated at the Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and her mother, Cecilia Smith, said her daughter maintained a “positive attitude” throughout. 

She said: “We didn’t know it was cancer but we knew something wasn’t right.” 

The disease was picked up following an eye test and it was confirmed following further tests. 

Cecilia said: “She just rolled with it and she took it on the chin.” 

She said they enjoyed day trips, adding: “When she was ill she spent a lot of time in Aberdeen and we went to places in Aberdeenshire.” 

Since her diagnosis, Maisie spent time ticking off items on her “bucket list” thanks to the generosity of her friends and family. 

She was able to enjoy a flight at Highland Aviation Centre in Inverness, and took in a West End show, Wicked, in London.

From the Inverness Courier on Tuesday, August 23, 2022.