A few years after Daniel Barnes came into the world in March of 1990, doctors told his mother Lyn he was unlikely to live longer than 10 years.
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For the almost three decades he lived, Lyn said she believed he was an angel on loan to her from God.
Dano, or Barnesy as he was also affectionately known, was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome when he was two-years-old.
From early on, Dano was embraced by his older brothers and all their friends in Dubbo too, Lyn said.
"My other two boys were heavily involved in soccer and things like that so if we went to soccer, Dano came," she said.
"We had their mates around here all the time, he was involved with them. The kids, who are now adults with kids of their own, didn't see Dano as any different. He was just Dano."
Known for his distinctive and infectious smile, Dano was a popular figure at Fairview Heights Public School and later the special education unit at Buninyong. He also accessed programs at Northcott Disability Service and Breakthru.
"He was such a social kid," Lyn said.
"When he was younger he went to Sunday School, he was in the Sunday School Christmas plays.
"I was just proud of who he was, even though he was my son I could see everybody who came around him just instantly light up and feel better.
"I felt like I had been given the greatest honour from God, to be loaned this child because for 29 years I was in the presence of a cherished child of God and he entrusted me with this child."
Lyn said while Dano did not speak verbally, he communicated a lot with his eyes and always managed to get his messages across, including his love of ladies.
"God said 'you see a boy who cannot speak, I see a miracle that does not need to'," Lyn recalled.
"I think he fought hard because his body was so racked in pain for so long. He would look at us and smile but the tears would come down his face. You knew the pain was just horrific...even I got to the point where I thought 'it's not fair anymore'."
Dano passed away surrounded by family and friends on October 7 at Dubbo Hospital.
"We were all able to hold him, which is the way it should be," Lyn said.
"When I sent my eldest out to tell people, it was the most beautiful thing because up both sides of the corridor outside the intensive care unit was full of people and the waiting room was full of people. They were all just standing there for him and it'd been like that for two days 24 hours a day.
"The ambos, the doctors, the nurses,the caregivers were just unbelievable."
"I just think the rest of us were so privileged to have that little human being amongst us because he was the nearest thing to a walking angel."