By Helena Olivero and Fran Jeffries
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SNELLVILLE, Ga. — Aimee Copeland called her parents at 7 a.m. Monday. Her hair was washed. Her makeup on. And her body was ready to tackle the next step in recovery from a flesh-decaying infection.
“We were eating breakfast, but she was champing at the bit,” said Copeland’s father, Andy Copeland.
Less than eight weeks ago, the young Georgia woman was fighting for her life. News of her rare disease traveled the globe. Each passing day brought grimmer news: Surgeons at Doctors Hospital in Augusta had to cut off her left leg at the hip; they amputated her right foot and then not one, but both of her hands.
The amputations were necessary to save her life, doctors said, but each surgery weakened the University of West Georgia graduate student. Yet bit by bit, she grew stronger and risk of death subsided. By mid-June her condition was upgraded from critical to serious, and last week doctors changed her status to good.
Monday morning, Andy Copeland greeted his daughter with an egg biscuit before she left the hospital for an hours-long ambulance ride to an undisclosed rehabilitation center in Georgia. Copeland said the family wanted Aimee to be closer to the family home in Snellville, but he declined to name the location.
Family members, along with doctors and nurses, gathered around Aimee for Monday’s send off. Everyone, he said, “was smiling ear to ear.”
Fellow UWG grad student Richard La Fleur said he would have been really shocked if Aimee Copeland hadn’t come through her ordeal with the strength that she has shown. He said when he visited her three weeks ago he left feeling energized because of her positive outlook and love for life.
“Aimee is such a fighter,” he said. “She’s defied so many odds and come through such a challenging time in her life. The rest of her story will change people’s lives.”
Copeland, a 24-year-old graduate student, still faces months of rehab, but she is alive — and out of a hospital. She has survived a rare but ruthless body-destroying bacteria.
In rehabilitation, Copeland will learn how to be independent, beginning with how to get from her bed to a wheelchair on her own, according to Andy Copeland. He said his daughter will first learn to how to get around without prosthetics. And during the next round of rehabilitation, in about a month, Aimee will be fitted with prosthetics.
Brenda Walker, a 43-year-old mom of three who survived necrotizing fasciitis six years ago, said leaving the hospital after her illness was a major milestone in her recovery.
“It was so huge because I remember lying in that hospital thinking I was never going to get out of there and it feeling like an eternity,” said Walker who was hospitalized for two months battling the infection, which started as a dull ache in the back of her leg and quickly progressed to agonizing pain. Walker opted for in-home therapy so she could be with her three kids.
“To be honest, it was scary; I didn’t know really know what was ahead of me,” she said. “I kept seeing this huge mountain ahead of me.” Walker, who credits the power of prayer for her survival, eventually learned to walk again. The Alpharetta mom can now run and play with her children.
“If I could say one thing to Aimee, it would be, ‘There is another side of that mountain. You can do it. It’s going to be wonderful even though it’s not going to be the same wonderful it was before.’ ”
Copeland’s story captured national attention for its bizarre and terrifying details. Medical professionals said her situation is so rare that the number of people with a similar infection is unknown. On May 1, Copeland was ziplining with friends along the Little Tallapoosa River. The homemade zipline broke and Copeland fell, leaving the young woman with a deep gash to her left leg that required nearly two dozen staples to close.
She sought medical treatment at Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton and returned each following day as the pain worsened. By the third day, Cope-land was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, a severe flesh-decaying infection that had advanced beyond her calf wound to her thigh.
After being airlifted to Augusta, doctors there called her parents — who were still en route to the hospital — with the heartbreaking question: Would they have permission to remove her leg?
There was little choice in the matter: either Aimee loses a leg or she loses her life. Amputating Aimee’s left leg at the hip was just the beginning. Surgeons also amputated Copeland’s right foot, and both of her hands. To save the young woman’s life, surgeons also removed a large area of skin and fascia, which attaches the skin to muscle, from the abdomen, side and hip to keep the bacteria’s toxins from spreading to her muscle.
Aimee Copeland continues to experience phantom pain when she puts pressure on the amputation sites, but it’s expected to improve during the coming weeks, Andy Copeland said.
During this next phase, Andy Copeland said, his daughter looks forward to spending more time outdoors and eating organic fruits and vegetables, as well as enjoying some of her favorite dishes including Indian food. She also hopes to use any free time to finish her thesis, he said.
Many people in the community — and across the country — have rallied around Aimee, holding fundraisers and blood drives and posting supportive posts on a special Facebook page, “Believe and Pray for a Miracle to Happen for Aimee Copeland.” (The site has 79,101 “likes.”)
California-based Amy’s Kitchen, maker of organic frozen meals sold at Whole Foods and elsewhere, is sending 30 meals to Aimee and her family this week and plans to send more for the coming weeks, even months.
Rachel Berliner, co-founder of Amy’s, said she was moved by Aimee’s story and heard about Aimee’s love of organic foods.
“We’re going to provide food for her continuously, with no time line, just for as long as she needs us. We are so happy that we can help in some small way,” Berliner said in an email.
During her hospital stay, Copeland had her low moments but turned to prayer, meditation, music and family to help her cope. She enjoyed listening to Bob Marley and Jack Johnson.
Andy Copeland said that at some point Aimee will respond herself to media inquiries. But for now, he just wants her to focus on getting better and using her energy and focus toward rehabilitation.
Copeland has battled through and overcome the slimmest of odds at beating this rare flesh-destroying disease. She spent weeks sedated while undergoing amputations and skin grafts. And though she faced setbacks along the way, she also hit major milestones: breathing on her own, swallowing food, no longer needing dialysis.
Described as “outdoorsy,” and a “lover of people,” Copeland was pursuing a master’s degree at UWG. Her father said his daughter wanted to combine her love of nature with counseling.
Amazingly, Copeland didn’t dwell on what she’s lost.
“Our family motto is never to focus on the past,” he said. “Even before she could speak, we thought, we can’t mourn the loss of her leg and hands. Our faith has led us through that. And God has been good to us and we have combined strength. ... Aimee and all of us believe we have to put the past behind us and focus on the now and let God take care of the future.”
Copyright 2012 Atlanta Journal-Constitution