Monday, May 14, 2012

Aimee Copeland Is Going To Live


Although it was very touch and go for a good week, it looks like the Georgia college student who kept losing her limbs due to a freak zip lining accident and flesh eating bacteria is on the mend. Aimee's father says that she is now breathing just 39% oxygen on a respirator and not the 100% that was previously required. Doctors are now hopeful that although she will lose some of her fingers that she will not have any other limbs amputated and that they will be able to attach prosthetics to her palms which would be used for her fingers.

In case you don't know the entire story, Aimee was kayaking down a river and stopped to do a homemade zipline. She crashed and suffered a huge gash in her leg that doctors stapled with 22 staples. She came back the next day complaining of pain and the doctors did nothing but give her pain medicine. It turns out that a flesh eating bacteria had invaded her body through the cut and her leg had to be amputated.


17 comments:

  1. I've been following this story all week since its from my former state. So incredibly sad and scary!

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  2. Oh, nightmare material! Flesh-eating bacteria and amputations! Gah, I did not need to read this. Poor girl.

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  3. Pros are looking at what prescription meds she was on.They are saying there are several antibiotics for what happened to her that should have worked if she had been evaluated immediately. Bless her and her family.

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  4. I know someone who suffered from flesh-eating bacteria once... he was in the hospital for quite a while and there was a time that the doctors weren't sure he would survive. Very very terrifying for his family. Luckily, after having a chunk of his abdomen removed, he made a full recovery. I hope this girl recovers well.

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  5. Poor kid. But I'm glad to hear she'll make it. The doctors said her chances were "zero to none". At the very least, she had the inner hutzpah to prove her doctors wrong.

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  6. Excellent news coming from such a sad story. Many well wishes to her & her family.

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  7. My ten year old was given a 5% chance of survival at birth. That taught us to ignore the numbers, and focus on the person and their recovery. Hope she keeps on keepin' on.

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  8. High hip amputation.

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  9. Awesome frufra!!! Her dad said on the news that her hands had basically mummified. She went into cardiac arrest on the OR table. The family is Christian and firmly believe in the power of prayer. My hopes and prayers for her are for her future, when she is released and she realizes what has happened to her. The first couple years out of the hospital, she is going to need those friends and family members to be there for her. Right now, while things are fresh and she can't communicate the best it is wonderful for them to be here, but please don't forget her when she is home!!

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  10. @snowstorms - I no longer identify as Christian, but I do absolutely believe in the power of prayer, especially after what we went through with our son.

    And I agree, the follow-up support is crucial. We dealt with the impact of our ordeal long after it was over, but we are very fortunate in that our son has been extremely healthy, active, and "normal" since he recovered.

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  11. Wow, I feel for this lovely girl and her family. May she make a full recovery. And Frufra, so glad your little one is well. I cannot imagine the hell you went through and the pain you endured.

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  12. Thanks, Sherry. I know it sounds both cliched and crazy, but our son's health crisis became such a blessing to our lives. We call it "the life-changer". Of course, it was the hardest damn thing you can imagine; it pushed us to the limit and well beyond. But it forged our marriage and family together like steel in a hot fire. We are so truly grateful for every day we have together and with our precious kids.

    That being said, I wouldn't wish the pain on anyone, and we realize that we are incredibly lucky to still have our son. We met many people who weren't that fortunate.

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  13. Frufra, you are one of the lucky ones! From what I hear, many marriages can't survive when something happens to a child. Hearing your whole family grew and prospered is amazing!

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  14. I read today that her medicines cause amnesia and each time she wakes up she doesn't know what is going on, or where and why she is there. I don't think she knows of the new amputations. According to her father they weren't going to tell her. But two days ago I read they were also taking part of the other leg and a hand. Maybe it didn't get so grim.

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  15. very scary. My friends Cyndi & Marc went through this. Cyndi is now a quadruple amputee. She's an amazing woman and refuses to give into this. They're trying to raise money so Cyndi can get proper hands, instead of hooks. Feel free to donate...

    http://cyndisstory.com/cyndisstory/Welcome.html

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  16. What a horrible story! I hadn't heard about this. :(

    Flesh eating bacterias scare the crap out of me.

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