While Aimee Copeland began the next phase of her recovery from a deadly flesh-decaying bacteria at a rehabilitation center Tuesday, work has started on her parents' Snellville home to accommodate her needs.
Copeland, 24, will spend the next six to eight weeks in rehab to continue her recovery from the bacteria she contracted from a wound she suffered after falling from a homemade zip line on May 1.
Eight weeks ago, the University of West Georgia grad student was clinging to life. Each passing day brought grimmer news: surgeons had to cut off her left leg at the hip; they amputated her right foot and both hands. Each surgery weakened Copeland.
Yet she fought back. Eventually, she began regaining strength. By mid-June her condition was upgraded from critical to serious, and last week, doctors changed her status to good. On Monday, she left Doctor's Hospital in Augusta and headed to an undisclosed rehabilitation center in Georgia.
Her father Andy Copeland said the family wanted Aimee to be closer to the family home in Snellville, but he declined to name the location. The family, he said, wants as few distractions as possible as Copeland learns how to get around without prosthetics. During the next round of rehabilitation, in about a month, she will be fitted with prosthetics.
"We need to get the work done" on the house to prepare for the daughter's homecoming, Andy Copeland said. "Knowing Aimee, she could be in rehab less time than we expect."
The two-story wing Aimee Copeland will occupy has been designed by Norcross architect Rob Ponder with her specific needs in mind, her father said. Ponder has volunteered his services, as have others who have offered to help build the wing.
Two volunteers — remodeling contractor Casey Moon, of K and C Services, and Jason Chapman, of Real Tree Services — were at the house on Tuesday. "It touched me from day one and when I saw an opportunity to help I couldn't pass it up," Moon told Channel 2 Action News.
The 1,800 square-foot addition will have two floors with an elevator and will include a bedroom, elevator, upstairs fitness room, a sun room and study.
"We'll have actually a fitness room where she can do yoga. She can also exercise," said Andy Copeland, adding that parallel bars can help her learn to use her prosthetic limbs.
Copeland will have the study to assist her efforts to finish her master's degree in psychology.
