Aimee Copeland, a Georgia woman fighting a flesh-eating bacterial infection was in critical condition at Augusta Hospital on Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman said. She may need to amputate her hands and foot, after surgeons already amputated the 24-year-o
Aimee Copeland, a Georgia woman fighting a flesh-eating bacterial infection was in critical condition at Augusta Hospital on Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman said. She may need to amputate her hands and foot, after surgeons already amputated the 24-year-old's left leg at the hip. Courtesy

Aimee Copeland, the Georgia graduate student who contracted necrotizing fasciitis after a zip lining accident, has been released from an Augusta hospital on Tuesday, ABC News reported.

The remarkable woman is able to breathe on her own and sit up for hours, ABC News reported, a task that doctors never thought Aimee would be able to do again, but she requested it.

She's one step back to being her normal self, her father told ABC News.

Her father first shared the news on a Facebook support page and beautifully added that each breath is a victory. Each heart beat is a cause for celebration. When she opens her eyes, that is like a ticker tape parade down Broadway. When she mouths words, angelic hosts rejoice.

She was hurt on May 1 when she fell off a zip line into a Georgia River, when the water-born bacteria entered her body through the wound. Copeland lost her left leg, right foot and hands.

The 24-year-old was all smiles as she asked her mother to put on her make-up for her so she would be camera-ready to leave the hospital, MSNBC reported.

When looking at her, it's almost easy to forget horror that the young graduate student has had to endure -- Necrotizing fasciitis has taken parts from all of her limbs.

In his blog Andy Copeland wrote that his daughter occasionally cries from the pain, but she stops because crying hurts her stomach.

But luckily for Copeland her bravery and determination to beat the deadly flesh eating bacteria has inspired the people in her community to band together so they could raise money to help pay for Aimee's prosthetics.

But just because Aimee is leaving the hospital and has beat the necrotizing fasciitis doesn't mean her battle is over just yet.

Aimee plans on finishing her thesis so she can walk at her graduation in December, and when Copeland says walk, she means to literally walk at her graduation, her father Andy Copeland told ABC News.

She's being sent to a rehabilitation center for intense treatment for the next six to eight weeks, according to Dr. Alberto Esquenazi, chief medical officer of MossRehab in Philadelphia who spoke to ABC News.

Her parents have not said which recovery center Aimee is going to be treated at, where she will solely focus on her recovery, MSNBC said, but they plan on building a new wing in their home to help with her recovey when she leaves the treatment facility.

The first step is to provide patients with self independence, said Esquenazi, who is also the chairman of physical medicine and rehabilitation at MossRehab Regional Amputee Center. Right now, someone has to feed her, help her with hygiene, turn on lights, open doors. ... But some simple devices can help her do these things herself.

But before she is able to walk, Copeland will be taught how to use a wheelchair until her body is strong enough for prosthetics.

That should gain enough time for her to heal, Esquenazi said, explaining how damaged skin is sensitive to artificial limbs. Six months after the amputations, she should be ready for permanent prosthetics.

She's a very determined young lady, Copeland's father, Andy Copeland, told the Associated Press. When she sets her mind to something, she achieves it.

It's not going to be an easy task, but if the Georgia grad student could beat a deadly flesh eating bacteria, it wouldn't be surprising if she trained her body so that she is able to walk at her graduation in less than six months.

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