A Fife toddler who died suddenly could have an aeroplane named after her after tens of thousands of people took her to their hearts.
Two-year-old Edie Murphy ‘gained her angel wings’ on October 16, a week after being rushed to hospital with a high temperature and convulsions.
Her heartbroken parents Tom and Cheryl hope that her name will live on in the sky after more than 50,000 people voted in just over 24 hours for her to win a competition by holiday firm Thomson.
If the tot, who lived in Kirkcaldy, wins the firm’s new 787 Dreamliner will have her name emblazoned on its side.
Cheryl, 31, said: “It’s such a comfort knowing our beautiful girl has touched the hearts and minds of so many people.
“We are so proud that she was our daughter. She was such a little person and two weeks ago not many people had heard of Edie.
“Now her name is everywhere.When you asked her her name she would say ‘I is Edie’. She would have loved that a plane could be called Edie too.”
Edie had the flu the week before she took seriously ill but her symptoms had not worsened.
On Friday October 9, Cheryl and Tom, 32, put a happy Edie to bed but the following morning, the day they were due to move to Tom’s home town of Leeds, she had a fever and started having fits.
They called an ambulance and she was rushed to Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital then transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
Tragically, an MRI scan revealed damage to her brain and vital organs and on October 15 the couple were told she would never recover.
Edie passed away the next morning.
At her funeral in Kirkcaldy last Friday mourners wore floral patterns and Converse trainers, which Edie loved.
Cheryl, who gave birth to baby Annie four months ago, said: “She was such a happy little two-year-old and she had recently become a big sister.
“This has completely broken us. There are no words to describe how it feels.”
Since a group of Cheryl’s friends entered Edie’s name into the competition, the hashtag #flyhighedie has gone viral online.
Cheryl, a former clerical assistant with Fife Council, said focusing on the campaign was helping her and Tom, who had left his role as project manager also with the council for a new job in Leeds, to deal with their grief.
She said: “We have lots of memories of Edie but this is a nice way to have another memory of her and for other people to remember her.
“The fact she could have a plane named after her is something to tell Annie about when she is older. It’s also a good way of raising awareness of the good work that the hospital does.”
The competition runs until November 16. Details can be found on the Thomson website at www.thomson.co.uk/blog.