Gwinnett woman improving in fight against rare infection

"Her fingers basically appear mummified," said Copeland, flanked by wife Donna and daughter Paige, 25.

But the Snellville family is encouraged by the small things, he said. "What we've got is nothing short of a miracle. My baby is alive and her mind is good.  I know we have a difficult road ahead, but right now we're rejoicing."

The neurologist says there is no indication of any brain damage, according to Copeland. The cardiopulmonologist says that her lungs are slowly healing, he added.

But the doctors have stopped short of saying the worst is yet over, said Donna Copeland, a clerk at Snellville Middle School.

"We want to think that way, but it can just change," she said. "It's like a rollercoaster every day."

Copeland contracted the bacteria -- Aeromonas hydrophila -- last Tuesday as she and friends kayaked and zip-lined along the Little Tallapoosa River. The home-made zip line broke. Copeland fell, causing a deep gash to her leg. Doctors believe the bacteria entered her body through the injury that required nearly two dozen staples to close.

Days later, doctors amputated most of her left leg to stop the advancing infection. By then, the Snellville woman was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, a severe flesh-decaying infection that continues to threaten her life.

Medical professionals said her case, while horrific and heart-breaking, is extremely rare. Aeromonas hydrophila, a bacteria typically found in warm climates and waters, is "ubiquitous," said Dr. Jay Varkey, an epidemiologist in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Emory University School of Medicine. Most people will encounter the bacteria and suffer no illness, while others might contract a stomach bug or a minor skin infection, he said. The most serious side effects typically happen to people with weakened immune systems.

So few people die from the bacteria, which can also cause sickness in fish and amphibians, that the true numbers of infection and fatality are unknown, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"It's usually not life-threatening," Varkey said. "It requires a perfect storm of bad circumstances. And when it happens in those rare cases, it can be dramatic."

Copeland, a University of West Georgia graduate psychology student, is one such case. Varkey, who is not treating her, said the combination of a traumatic wound and high numbers of bacteria that could reach deep skin tissues is likely the cause of her rare illness.

Immediately following her zip-lining injury on May 1, the South Gwinnett High School graduate sought treatment at the Tanner Medical Center emergency room in Carrollton, where doctors closed her leg with 22 staples and advised Motrin and Tylenol for the pain, her father said.

The pain worsened by the next day, and Copeland returned to the Tanner E.R. and was given a prescription for pain medication. With still no relief, Copeland saw a doctor last Thursday, received a prescription for antibiotics. Again, she was treated and released, Andy Copeland said.

Copeland wasn't diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, the soft tissue infection caused by bacteria, until Friday. But by then, it had spread beyond her wound to her hip and thigh. Her left leg was ultimately amputated after she was flown to the burn center in Augusta, where doctors there also removed tissue from her abdomen.

By Sunday, Copeland's family had been told to expect the worst.

"The doctors say that Aimee’s probability of surviving the night is bleak," Andy Copeland wrote on Facebook May 6. "All we can do and all we have done is pray."

Aimee Copeland's path to survival has been marred by setbacks, but her family continues to have faith in her recovery. She suffered cardiac arrest on the operating table, but was resuscitated, her father said. She made progress the next few days, only for her organs to begin to shut down Tuesday, a week after the accident.

While his daughter's blood oxygen level has improved, she still has some organ failure, which could hinder the ability to perform more amputations, Andy Copeland said Thursday.

For now, the family continues to speak to Aimee, play music for her and pray for her recovery. Copeland said no matter the outcome, he wants people to become more aware of the bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila because early detection is the key to survival.

Copeland still hopes his daughter will eventually be able to complete her master’s degree, and described her as “outdoorsy” and a “lover of people.” She plans to use her degree to combine her love of nature with counseling, as “a way to bring therapy to people in pain and suffering from disabilities or troubled psyches,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We all should rejoice on this day, because Aimee's greatest attributes are her incredible intellect and her loving compassion and I am certain that mankind will benefit from both when the tubes are finally removed," he shared on Facebook Wednesday evening.

The Copeland family is planning a 2 p.m. press conference Thursday to further discuss her condition. And friends have established Aimee’s Fund at United Community Bank for donations to help defray medical costs and have also organized a blood drive at the University of West Georgia gym from 2 to 7 p.m. next Tuesday.

Copeland keeps family and friends up to date with his daughter’s progress on Facebook. In those frequent posts, it’s clear that he knows just how delicate her situation has become.

“We take so much for granted in life, but I never imagined that one of my daughters would face this most unlikely of situations.”