Aimee, from Georgia, now works as a motivational speaker and psychotherapist. Photo/Facebook
Aimee, from Georgia, now works as a motivational speaker and psychotherapist. Photo/Facebook
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
It's been five years since Aimee Copeland lost her hands, entire left leg and her right foot.
After finishing her shift at work on the afternoon of May 1, 2012 - Copeland decided to join her co-worker and another friend down at a creek in one of their backyards for a swim.
Stumbling across a "homemade zip line" - Copeland was "thrilled to try it out".
"All of us went across the zip line once with no problems," Copeland wrote of her accident in the May issue of Time magazine.
Days after sustaining the injury to her calf, Copeland could feel the antibiotics weren't taking effect in her leg.
"The pain in my leg felt like it was moving to different parts of my body, which didn't make sense," she explained.
"Then one morning, I woke up and discovered my entire left leg looked like it was rotting. I couldn't speak, and I felt like I was dying. What happened next remains a blur."
Copeland, from Georgia, was taken to hospital where doctors discovered she had a flesh-eating bacteria known as necrotizing fasciitis, which was destroying her tissue.
"If doctors didn't act fast, the bacteria would kill me quickly".
Aimee Copeland was 24 when she lost her left leg, right foot and both her hands. Photo/Facebook
Soon after being diagnosed with the bacteria, Copeland was flown to a hospital in Augusta, Georgia, because of fears her organs might fail.
It was there that surgeons asked Copeland's parents for permission to amputate her left leg and part of her abdomen in a bid to stop the bacteria from spreading.
"The first thing I solidly remember from the ordeal happened a few days after losing my leg," she wrote.
"My dad sat next to me in the hospital room, gently took my hands into his own and held them up so I could see them.
"My hands were dark purple and black and looked unrecognisable."
Copeland explained the medication she was taking had tightened her blood vessels and raised her blood pressure but, "as a consequence", the chance of infection was increased.
"Aimee, these hands are not healthy," Copeland recalled her dad saying as he sat with her in hospital.
"They are hampering your progress. The doctors want to amputate them and your foot today to assure your best possible chance of survival.
Aimee woke up just a few days after cutting her calf, and noticed her leg was rotting. Photo/Facebook
"It was really hard to hear, but at that moment, all I wanted was to live."
Necrotising fasciitis is caused by bacteria that enters the body through open wounds or small cuts and rapidly kills flesh and muscle.
Sufferers must be treated immediately to prevent a loss of limbs or organ failure, and almost always undergo surgery to remove dead tissue before being treated with powerful antibiotics.
Earlier this year, two Australians were admitted to Blacktown hospital after contracting the same flesh eating bacteria. As many as one in five people who contract the infection die.
In the weeks following her amputations, Copeland had to learn how to walk and take care of herself again through a 51-day rehabilitation program.
"As I was learning to feed myself, brush my teeth and get dressed with no hands, it dawned on me that this was going to affect the rest of my life," she wrote.
Battling her own demons throughout the healing process - Copeland refused to let her horror experience ruin the rest of her life.
"I cried a lot and went through a really dark period," she explained.
"My self-esteem was shot. I was going through withdrawal from all the painkillers I stopped taking, and my boyfriend and I broke up.
"But these traumas, both physical and emotional, did not hold me back. When physical therapy was over, I finished school and obtained my masters in psychology like I had always planned."
This year, Copeland began her first job at Heartwork Counseling Center as a psychotherapist, as well as travelling around the US as an inspirational speaker.
Aimee was hold by doctors she wouldn't be able to walk without crutches. Photo/Facebook
Describing her role as "extremely rewarding" - she also decided to start a non-profit called the Aimee Copeland Foundation.
"My goal is to create a nature park that's accessible to people with disabilities," she said.
"I remember lying in my hospital bed thinking, 'I can't take people on hikes anymore without legs. That's why I want to create a space that I and others can use to garden, hike and meditate'."
Copeland's announced her first fundraiser for the foundation this month - a concert, walk and wellness festival that will take place in September in Atlanta, Georgia.
"People want to feel sorry for me, but I have an awesome life," she explained.
"I've learned to be grateful for the pain because it has helped me grow."
