RUBY Grace Smith spent her short life battling ill health after being born more than three months premature.
She arrived in the world one year ago weighing just 1lb 9oz and spent the next nine months fighting chronic lung disease. Eventually, the struggle became too much and she died on May 17 this year, aged only nine months. But she has not been forgotten, and on Saturday dozens of family members, neighbours and friends in Crackley raised hundreds of pounds for in the youngster’s memory. It was a difficult but uplifting day for mum and dad, Rachel Brown and Kevin Smith, from Crackley Bank, who looked back to their daughter’s birth on August 25, 2008. After arriving 13 weeks early, Ruby struggled with respiratory syncytial virus and bronchiolitis. Rachel, aged 27, said: “Ruby was on the neo-natal ward at the , and they did everything they could for her.
“Then she was moved down to the Cheethams ward and spent three months in there.