How Olivia’s brush with death helped 4000 others
SHE was dangerously close to death after being struck down by meningitis and only survived after surgery to amputate her hands and feet.
Now Olivia Giles, 49, has helped more than 4,000 people who have also lost limbs to rebuild their shattered lives.
However, lying in a hospital bed, heavily bandaged after her lifesaving operation, the remarkable Scot, then aged 36, could quite easily have given up, but for the love of her family and friends who drove her on to become an inspirational figure in the UK and abroad.
Having bravely battled to regain her own independence, she established a charity, 500 Miles, to supply prosthetic limbs to developing countries such as Malawi.
Now shortlisted for an award in recognition of her humanitarian work, she spoke yesterday of the charity’s work in providing help for hundreds of disabled people to walk again.
Miss Giles, a lawyer said: ‘It was bad luck that I got meningitis, but I have had a very positive experience and I have always thought I am very lucky to still be here, rather than unlucky that I lost my hands and feet.
‘I wouldn’t have things any other way. I honestly do feel as if I’ve thrown a double six.’
Her charity established a clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi, in 2009, where 4, 000 prosthetic l i mbs have been fitted.
Another base in t he same country, at Mzuzu, produces and fits 45 each month.
The first patient treated at Mzuzu was 17-year-old Susan Bamba, who was abandoned by her family after being born with deformed legs.
Recalling her first trip to Malawi, Miss Giles said she saw a man who had had his leg amputated, crawling about in the gutter at the side of the road.
She added: ‘ He wasn’t much above the pavement line, but he was absorbed by how to manoeuvre himself out of the gutter.
‘There I was, travelling in relative luxury in a nice car with my NHS state- of- the- art l egs. It had a profound effect on me.
‘I realised that if I had been born in Africa instead of the UK, I’d be crawling in the dirt too, scavenging for food and being treated as if I deserved it.’
From that moment on, Miss Giles has become a tireless worker to help other who have lost limbs, inspiring many others through her own personal battle.
She disclosed the circumstances surrounding her struggle after being struck down by meningococcal septicaemia in 2002.
‘It felt like a very bad cold, but by the next day my hands and feet were itching and I was freezing,’ Miss Giles said.
‘By the afternoon my feet were covered in angry purple marks. Then I noticed the marks on my hands. At the time I didn’t know what was happening, but they were symptoms of blood poisoning.’
She added that after she called an ambulance the last thing she could remember was her partner Robin Garrett – now her husband – arriving.
But after arriving at hospital her ordeal was only just beginning. She eventually underwent surgery to remove her limbs, before later spending four weeks in a coma.
Miss Giles, who lives in Edinburgh with her husband, admitted: ‘It didn’t occur to me that I was nearly dead. I didn’t think of saying goodbye. I don’t r emember anything after that until I regained consciousness four weeks later.
‘That first day they told Robin there was a fair chance I wouldn’t make it to the morning.
‘My flesh was dying and my internal organs were struggling. Robin and my mum and dad could see creeping black on my limbs as they became gangrenous.’
As her condition worsened, the doctors asked them whether they should amputate her limbs or switch off the life-support machine and let her go.
Now it is a different story as she devotes enormous time and energy fund-raising to help others.
However, Miss Giles insisted: ‘I’m still the same person, despite everything I’ve been through. I’ve just changed direction, that’s all.
‘I never forget how lucky I am to wake up in the morning because I so nearly died.’
Her charity work earned her an OBE in 2010 and she has been nominated for the Burns Award, sponsored by South Ayrshire Council, in recognition of her efforts.
But before that, Miss Giles is organising a BIG Dinner charity night to raise £500,000 to establish a clinic in Zambia.
The event – the public can register on www.bigdinner.co.uk – will see people invite friends and family round for their dinner on March 7.
‘As if I’ve thrown
a double six’ ‘I never forget how lucky I am’