Learning to live without her hands and feet has been something of a triumph for Olivia Giles, when it could just as easily have been a tragedy. This poised, pragmatic former lawyer does not doubt for a minute that her life in Edinburgh is as good as it gets.
Eight years ago Giles had emergency quadruple amputation after blood poisoning left her with gangrene, comatose for a month and close to death. She survived thanks to a quick-thinking surgeon who amputated both arms and legs below the elbows and knees to stop the meningococcal septicaemia infection spreading.
Sitting in a warm, book-lined room at the back of the Morningside house where she lives with her husband, Robin, and her cat, Lara, Giles says her survival,