ATLANTA — Faced with the prospect of losing both hands and her one remaining foot, a young Georgia woman battling to survive a case of flesh-eating bacteria that already has claimed one leg mouthed the words “Let’s do this.”
Aimee Copeland, 24, “shed no tears, she never batted an eyelash,” her father, Andy Copeland, wrote on Facebook yesterday about the conversation he and his wife had with their daughter the day before.
“I was crying because I am a proud father of an incredibly courageous young lady,” Copeland wrote.
It was not immediately clear yesterday evening whether the surgeries had been performed, and a post to a blog about the woman’s progress simply said, “Aimee is doing well today. Her vital signs are as positive as her spirit.”
Copeland’s battle to survive has inspired an outpouring of support from around the world. The University of West Georgia student developed a rare condition called necrotizing fasciitis after suffering a deep cut in her leg in a May 1 fall from a homemade zip line over the Little Tallapoosa River.
She has been hospitalized in critical condition at an Augusta hospital, battling kidney failure and other organ damage. She had been on a breathing tube until recently, when doctors performed a tracheotomy.
Until Thursday, Aimee Copeland did not know the full extent of her condition, only that her hands were badly infected.
Andy Copeland said he told his daughter about what had happened since the accident, how her one leg had been amputated. Doctors had once characterized her chances of survival as “slim to none.”& amp; amp; lt; /p>
“We told her of the outpouring of love from across the world,” her father said. “We told her that the world loved and admired her. We explained that she had become a symbol of hope, love and faith. Aimee’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She was amazed.”
Andy Copeland said he learned on Thursday that doctors wanted to amputate his daughter’s hands and remaining foot. Doctors were concerned that she could develop respiratory problems, and if her hands released an infection in her body, there was a risk she could become septic again, her father said.
“We had a window of opportunity to perform the amputations and have a successful outcome,” he said.
At that point, the family decided to share the situation with their daughter.
Copeland said he showed his daughter her hands, told her they were not healthy and were hampering her progress.
