A MUM whose premature baby was rushed into hospital just before Christmas has thanked the Oxford Children’s Hospital for saving his life.

And now, to give something back, Hayley Munro, 29, of Brasenose Road, Didcot, has signed up for the OX5 Run to raise money for the Headington hospital.

Her son Matthew was born eight weeks early on August 9 last year and spent two weeks at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

At four months old, paramedics rushed Matthew into the Oxford Children’s Hospital with breathing difficulties after he developed an infection.

Mrs Munro said: “I was petrified. I have never been in an ambulance before, so being in an ambulance with my baby was terrifying.

“I felt like I had just got him home and that was whipped out from underneath us.

“It is hard for a parent to say, but the reality is they saved his life. I don’t know what would have happened if he wasn’t in hospital.

“It is the most horrendous thing you can think of. You can’t function or cry, or anything.”

Mrs Munro, whose family also includes two-year-old daughter Elizabeth and husband James, 33, hopes to raise £200 for the hospital at the charity OX5 Run.

The five-mile event in the grounds of Blenheim Palace on Sunday, March 30, is the hospital’s biggest annual fundraiser.

Mrs Munro added: “When I said I was going to do the OX5 Run my husband laughed at me because I can’t even run a bath.

“But I said if I’ve given birth twice I’m sure I can manage this. I just couldn’t be any more grateful. We have got our little family together now.”

The OX5 Run, organised by the Oxford Mail and sponsored by Allen Associates, is now in its 12th year.

Last year it raised £90,000 to help fund new equipment for the hospital.

The run which starts at 10.30am costs £10 to enter and runners are asked to aim to raise a minimum of £100.

To enter go to oxfordmail.co.uk/ox5run