Nadia Lupo from Berkhamsted was one of the first people to sign up for this year's OX5 RUN, after seeing one of our posters in the John Radcliffe when she was in hospital with her son Atticus, known as Atti.

In December the 4 year old had contracted five viruses triggering a condition called Kawasaki disease. This mainly affects children under the age of five and causes the blood vessels to become inflamed and swollen, which can lead to complications in the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart.

Atti went into heart failure and was admitted into Paediatric Intensive Care, or PICU as most know it.

Nadia says: “The doctors and nurses worked day and night caring for him. We sat by his bedside 24/7 - we'd never witnessed such skill, compassion and dedication.

“He was in PICU for seven days and then spent a further week on Bellhouse Drayson Ward.

“Atti has always loved Penguins and we gave one to him while he was in PICU so we have decided to call ourselves the PICU Penguins!"

Atti is currently recovering well at home and is managing a few hours at school every day at the moment, which is good news.

Nadia will be running the stunning five-mile course at Blenheim Palace with her 11-year-old daughter Isadora (Issy) and hopes to encourage some friends to join their team.

‘If you are able please do sponsor us, every £1 counts! We would really love our fundraising efforts to go towards a new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit – we know first-hand what an impact this would have both on the staff and their patients,” said Nadia.

Lucy Walker, Senior Fundraising and Event Manager for the OX5 Run said, ‘Good luck to Nadia and Issy on their run, we look forward to seeing them on the day.

‘If Nadia and Issy have inspired you, there is still plenty of time to catch our early bird offers and sign up for the OX5 RUN at Blenheim Palace on 24th March. You can run, jog or walk the route and dogs and buggies are welcome.’

The OX5 RUN raises really important funds for the Oxford Children’s Hospital and Children’s Services across our NHS Trust, including at the Horton and NOC,  helping to make the hospitals more friendly and welcoming for children and their families, equipped with the very latest medical technology and support.

We’d love you to join us and support this important local event!

Click here to find out more.