Parents honour baby lost to Edwards' Syndrome at Glasgow Royal Children's Hospital

Fadi and Elizabeth Ghazala were determined to find a meaningful way to honour their daughter’s memory after she died with a rare genetic condition last year aged just nine days old.

They knew they wanted to do something special to remember Rita, who was born with Edwards’ Syndrome, a rare condition caused by an extra chromosome in the body’s cells.

The couple, from Kirkintilloch in East Dunbartonshire, began a fundraising cycling challenge earlier this week aiming to raise money for Glasgow’s Children’s Hospital Charity.

Fadi and Elizabeth say Rita was “brave, resilient and peaceful” from the get-go.

“Rita gave us the best nine days of our lives,” Fadi told STV News.

“She was wonderful,” added Elizabeth. “We just want to move forward with her legacy in our hearts because she made such a big impact on us.”

Despite major gullet and windpipe surgery and an overnight emergency ventilation tube change at the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Rita died on December 17 last year.

To honour their daughter, the couple will cycle 210 miles, connecting the three level four NICU wards across Scotland.

Joined by family and friends, they began their journey on Wednesday at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.

On Saturday, they will complete the last leg of the challenge and head to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

The family have already raised over £8,000 and hope to support the NICU in Glasgow with the creation of “Rita’s Room” – a space for counselling and comfort for other families going through palliative care.

Fadi said staff at the hospital gave Rita “dignity in her nine days”.

“The love that they had shown her is something that we can never really repay,” he said.

“But we really just want to say thank you.”

Rita’s grandad Anthony Tatlock is among those taking part in the fundraising challenge.

He told STV News: “Rita is our first grandchild. Her nine day life had such an impact on myself and my wife and the family. We felt we needed to do something to honour her life.”

A JustGiving page has been set-up to support the fundraising efforts.