Aimee Copeland, the Snellville woman battling a flesh-decaying disease, is breathing on her own, her father said.
Copeland is now focused on taking each breath without the aid of a ventilator, which will help her lungs recover, her father, Andy Copeland, told The Associated Press Monday.
"Aimee is being Aimee. She’s cracking jokes, speaking frankly, displaying her usual early morning grumpiness and she has been off of the ventilator for over 10 hours," Andy Copeland wrote on a Facebook blog about his daughter Sunday evening.
Copeland's hands were amputated Thursday because they'd turned purple and were threatening her recovery. "It's almost like she had poison bags on the end of her arms," her father told the Associated Press.
The Snellville native contracted the infection May 1 as she and friends zip-lined along the Little Tallapoosa River near Carrollton. When the homemade zip line broke, she fell to the water and rocks below, cutting her calf on a stone.
The bacteria entered through Copeland's wound, forcing doctors at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center to amputate her left leg at the hip. She remained on a breathing tube until Wednesday, when doctors performed a tracheotomy, her father wrote in a Facebook post. Aimee has also undergone hyperbaric treatments to help improve her blood flow.
Still, despite the long road ahead of her, Aimee's father has said she has not lost her sense of humor and spirit. And she's been shocked to learn at the support and prayers she continues to receive from outside of the hospital. Blood drives and fundraisers continue to be organized to help her.
She has maintained her positive outlook since the amputations, inspiring loved ones, friends and strangers around the globe, her father told AP.
Meanwhile, fundraisers and blood drives are still being planned in Aimee Copeland's honor.
The South Gwinnett Rotary Club is hosting host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at the First Baptist Church of Snellville, 2400 Main St.
A second blood drive has been set for June 1 after more than 160 people showed up at the University of West Georgia campus to donate in honor of Copeland, who is a graduate psychology student at the college. The blood drive June 1 also will be held on the UWG campus.
On Tuesday at the Sunnyside Cafe in Carrollton where Aimee Copeland is employed, a live art event and concert with headliner Corey Durkin is set. There will be a raffle and silent auction.
The Moonshadow Music Hall ,which adjoins the cafe, is planning a rock and roll benefit concert on May 26, Memorial Day weekend, according to Gary Duke, owner cafe. Proceeds will go to the Aimee Fund. That fund has been set up at United Community Bank, 119 Maple Street in Carrollton.
Concerts set for June 15 and 16 on the Snellville town green will be fundraisers for the Copeland family, said Snellville Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witt. Witt said Banks and Shane will perform June 15. The June 16 act is yet to be determined. Witt said numerous local bands have offered to donate their performance.
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