Rita Grace

Our beautiful daughter, Rita Grace, was born 09-12-24, with Trisomy 18 (Edwards' Syndrome). She gave us the best 9 days of our lives, before going to heaven on 17-12-24, at the exact same time she was born (15:34). Rita was a huge inspiration. On her second day, she got through major gullet & windpipe surgery (she was away from us for 8-hours). She then survived an emergency ventilation tube change overnight- and was well-known on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for keeping the doctors and nurses on their toes. From the get-go she was incredibly brave, resilient and peaceful; and she made us very proud parents.

In Rita's short life, she had a profound impact on all who met her. She inspired others all over the world (North America, Europe, India, Middle East) through her story, and we have been humbled by the messages of love that we have received. We are truly honoured to be her parents.

Before she was born and throughout her life she received wonderful care from the Neonatal and Palliative Care teams at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow. Without their love and support for Rita, we would not have had the wonderful time together to bond as a family. We are certain other families who are faced with similar circumstances would benefit from the same loving commitment as we and Rita had, and our aim is to help the teams to improve their services for these families. As an example, the Palliative Care team does not have a dedicated space to counsel families in; our aim would be to financially support such an endeavour through the creation of 'Rita's Room' (disclaimer: we are still in discussions with the teams surrounding allocation of funds).

In order to raise these funds, and allow Rita's legacy to continue, we will be completing a 'Ride for Rita', which will involve cycling through the major Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Scotland that care for babies with Edwards' Syndrome and similar life-limiting conditions. This 4-5 day event will cover more than 200 miles, beginning in Aberdeen, via Edinburgh, ending at the Neonatal Unit in Glasgow that cared for Rita.

Rita will always be our angel, and we treasure all of the moments we spent together as a family. Thank you for your support in continuing her legacy and helping families like ours.

Love,

Elizabeth, Fadi & Rita Grace