Aimee Copeland – the Georgia student who lost both of her hands, her leg, and a foot to a deadly flesh-eating bacteria – is finally leaving the hospital.
She was released today after a two-month stay at Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta.
Aimee is not going home, but is instead heading to a private rehabilitation facility where she will learn to use a wheelchair and eventually prosthetic limbs.
It’s been two months since the 24-year college student sustained a deep gash on her leg while using a homemade zipline near the water.
“She’s a very determined young lady,” said Copeland’s father. “When she sets her mind to something, she achieves it.”
Her speedy recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. Just a few weeks ago, she was sedated and breathing on a respirator while undergoing amputations and skin grafts to replace patches of infected skin.
Copeland will learn to use a wheelchair until her battered body is strong enough to tolerate prosthetics.
Rehabilitation will be long and difficult, but Andy Copeland says his daughter is up to the challenge.
“She feels the challenge will create a tremendous opportunity not just for her to learn more and to gain more from this but to learn more that she can use to help others along the way,” he said on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Aimee plans to graduate from the University of West Georgia later this year.
“She wants to be able to walk and get her master’s degree in December,” Andy Copeland said. “And you heard the word right – ‘walk.’ That’s what she intends to do.”
More in the video below.
Related articles
- Flesh-Eating Victim Leaves Hospital (abcnews.go.com)
- Aimee Copeland Leaves the Hospital (healthland.time.com)
- Flesh-eating bacteria victim set to leave hospital (foxnews.com)
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