A GULLANE gran who had both of her legs amputated after contracting septicaemia is doing her bit for charity by hosting a big dinner.

Cath Thomson caught septicaemia after going into hospital for a routine operation.

It meant both of her legs had to be amputated.

However, it was then that she heard about Olivia Giles, who founded the charity 500 Miles, which supplies prosthetic limbs to developing countries.

She said: “Olivia was my inspiration when I lost my legs to septicaemia in 2008.

“She is a quadruple amputee, she lost her limbs in 2002 to meningococcal septicaemia.

“I heard about her while I was in Astley Ainslie Hospital and heard about the work she has done and it just inspired me.” 500 Miles supports the development and delivery of prosthetic and orthotic services in Malawi and Zambia, as well as a little in Zanzibar.

The charity help people with impaired mobility of all kinds to get moving, as well and as independently as possible, by helping them to access prostheses and orthoses.

Prostheses are devices which replace missing body parts, while orthoses are devices, like splints, which support body parts which are weak or do not function properly.

Now, the charity is hosting a series of dinners across the world, with the aim of raising £500,000.

Cath, who is looking to contribute at least £2,000 to that tally, said: “We are doing this BIG dinner and it has just grown and grown.

“We are doing it in the village hall and we have got a beautiful two-course dinner and some light entertainment, which we are keeping a surprise.

“There is a raffle as well and it is going to be a good fun night.” The dinner, on March 6, is one of a series as part of the fundraising event: The BIG dinner.

The event consists of hundreds of separate dinners eaten all over the world, some of which will be showcased in a special web-stream broadcast hosted by Fred MacAulay, who will be attending a celebrity dinner himself.

Every dinner aims to bring new life and hope to someone in Africa who needs an artificial limb or limb support, to help them achieve mobility or full body function.

Cath thanked Alison Greer and sisters Katriona Dove and Lyndsay Campbell for preparing the food at the Gullane Village Hall event, which will see more than 100 people pack the venue.

Cath added: “The original plan was to have it in my house with about 20 people in here.

“I thought I could feed them but it has grown from here to the big hall in the village hall.”