newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Doctors gave Aimee Copeland, the girl who contracted a flesh-eating bacteria in her leg from a zip-lining accident, little chance of survival on Tuesday.

But the 24-year old Copeland is continuing to fight.

Copeland’s father Andy said Aimee has moved her arms and head and is breathing more on her own, according to ajc.com.

Copeland received an infection known as Aeromonas hydrophila May 1 as she was zip-lining with friends along the Little Tallapoosa River. The homemade line broke and she fell, receiving a deep cut on her leg. Doctors closed the cut with 22 staples and released Copeland, but she returned twice when her pain continued to worsen.

She was diagnosed with the ailment last Friday, and the bacteria had spread to her hip and thigh. Her left leg was amputated, and tissue was taken from her abdomen. Her blood oxygen level has improved, but doctors are still considering removing the tips of her fingers and toes on her right foot because of poor circulation. And unfortunately, by Wednesday her temperature was up to 102.

Dr. Jay Varkey, an epidemiologist in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Emory University School of Medicine, said Copeland’s case is very rare, according to ajc.com. Varkey says most people will suffer no illness, while others might contract a stomach bug or a minor skin infection.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration report that so few people die from the bacteria that the numbers of infection and fatality are not known.

Wsbtv.com reports Copeland lost her pulse for a short time Tuesday morning, but was quickly resuscitated.

Copeland was well-known in the community, and was finishing her master's degree in psychology. She works at the Sunnyside Cafe in Carrollton. Café owner Gary Duke said, “She planned to go to work helping troubled youth.”