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TagsBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating disease that attacked Georgia resident Aimee Copeland after a zip-lining accident May 1, is a rare infection with a grim statistic. One in four people who are diagnosed with it are killed.
The bacteria likely entered Copeland’s body through the gash in her leg from the accident. According to WJBF-TV, it can also enter the body from an insect bite, burn, or open wounds that contact with saltwater or saltwater fish.. NF can even enter the body from muscle strains or bruises that don't break the skin.
NF symptoms include small, red lumps on the skin, bruising that spreads quickly, sweating, chills, fever and nausea, often followed by organ failure and shock. If you believe you have NF, early diagnosis and treatment is most important. Many cases are treated in the Intensive Care Unit.
A 13-year survivor of necrotizing fasciitis, Brenda Koch, shared her story with the Copelands. Koch spent 7 months in the hospital battling for her life. Koch went through more than 50 surgeries. She didn’t lose her leg, but doctors cut out all the muscle down to the bone. Koch uses a cane to walk most of the time.
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Speaking of Aimee, Koch told wrdw.com, "I just know that she is going to be a survivor and she's going to walk down that road and get where I am.”
Aimee Copeland’s parents have learned to communicate with their daughter through lip reading. Her father Andy Copeland said on the Today show that Aimee wants ice cream when she is able to eat on her own.
He said Aimee will lose her fingers but doctors are hoping to save the palms of her hands so she can possibly use prosthetics later.
According to Mail Online, the 24-year-old Copeland isn't fully aware of what has happened to her yet. Andy Copeland said: 'She keeps asking "Where am I? How long have I been here?" After I told her she said, "I gotta be working on my thesis.”
The Copelands plan to wait until Aimee comes fully off the respirator to tell her what happened. Aimee Copeland is now breathing 39 per cent oxygen through a respirator, and It will be decreased to 21 percent, like the air around us.
Copeland describes his daughter’s recovery as a "miracle."
