Flesh-eating bacteria victim Aimee Copeland on amputations: "Let's do this"
Undated photo of Aimee Copeland
(CBS News) Aimee Copeland was told that she will have her hands and remaining foot amputated, complications from blood vessels dying after a two-week battle with the flesh-eating infection necrotizing fasciitis, her father wrote on Facebook Friday.
Her response? "Let's do this."
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Her father Andy has been updating a blog on a University of Georgia psychology department's student website ever since Aimee was hospitalized with necrotizing fasciitis. She suffered a deep gash in her leg after falling May 1 from a homemade zip line over a Georgia river, and the flesh-eating bacteria, Aeromonas hydrophila, entered the wound.
Ken Lewis, one of the operators of that blog, told CBS News the family recently gained control of a Facebook page with over 49,000 followers set up by someone else. That is where Andy updated the world on his daughter's condition Friday morning.
In the post, Andy said that on Wednesday doctors suggested Aimee have the breathing tube removed and that she get a tracheotomy, a procedure in which an incision is made into the neck and a tube is inserted to open an airway, allowing a person to breathe. Andy said the flesh wounds on her abdomen had been making it hard for Aimee to take deep breaths, and the "trache will make it easier for us to read her lips."
"She hated the throat tube anyway (so did I)," he wrote. "Her respiratory therapy will also take a huge leap up in quality."
He also wrote that on Wednesday Aimee was approved for hyperbaric treatments - she was scheduled for 10 - that will help her regain blood flow in her hands, but unfortunately her fingers are beyond saving. Early sessions had turned her hands from a purplish color to a reddish flesh tone.
But on Thursday, doctors said Aimee would not go to the chamber and they wanted to talk to Andy about her hands and remaining foot.
"The doctor explained that her body was trying hard to heal her hands, but the blood flow was too poor. There was an added risk of infection. The palm of her right hand had developed a sore. Today her hands had returned to their splotchy purplish coloration and they were actually hampering Aimee's recovery," he wrote.
The doctors were worried that if Aimee developed breathing problems and her hands released an infection into her body, she could become septic.
"We had to do what is necessary to save Aimee's life," Andy wrote. He recounted the conversation that took place over the next 30 minutes when he told Aimee about her hands.
She "shed no tears, she never batted an eyelash. I was crying because I am a proud father of an incredibly courageous young lady," Copeland wrote. He said he was finally able to tell his daughter Thursday what had happened since the incident on the river, and how her left leg was amputated, and the outpouring of love she's gotten from the public.
"We told her that the world loved and admired her," he wrote in Friday's update. "We explained that she had become a symbol of hope, love and faith."
"Aimee's eyes widened and her jaw dropped," he wrote. "She was amazed."
Then, Copeland took his daughter's hands and held them up to her face. She did not draw back, he said.
Andy said he told her, "Aimee, I do not want anything to happen to you. Your mind is beautiful, your heart is good and your spirit is strong. These hands can prevent your recovery from moving forward. The doctors want to amputate them and your foot today to assure your best possible chance of survival."
Aimee mouthed that she was confused "but I'll figure it out," her sister determined, and the family told her she'd be fitted with prosthetics. She nodded approvingly, raised her hands up, and mouthed three words the whole family understood: "Let's do this."
"A tear rolled down my face as I walked out of her room," Andy wrote. "I wasn't crying because Aimee was going to lose her hands and foot, I was crying because, in all my 53 years of existence, I have never seen such a strong display of courage."
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I had a family member who had staph after surgery. He eventually lost most of his abdominal cavity. They had to continue trimming the flesh around the cavity. The only other thing that held it in check was Dakins Solution. They kept the cavity stuffed with a soaked roll of bandage. They contrived a adhesive attached covering to keep the packing in place. After about a year of continous trimming and soaking, they were able to take strips of skin from his leg to cover the opening. They were unable to move nearby flesh to fill the cavity because the staph would have just spread. I don't know if this would help. Dakins solution is an old remedy and most doctors are not aware of it's use.
I had a strange flesh eating problem a few years ago. I noticed a spot on my chest that was discolored, when I scratched it the outer layer of skin came off and it looked a milky color. In a couple of days it grew in size and had spread to four different places on my upper chest, each about the size of a dime or a quarter. I went to a dermatologist that took a sample but couldn't say what it was. He gave me a prescription for something (can't remember what) but two days later the spots had grown larger. I was putting Neosporin + Pain on it but it didn't do anything, I guess it helped stop the itching.
I am disabled with chronic pain and was taking a lot of different medicines. I don't know why, I guess it was because I have so much alone time, but I tried putting Hydrogen Peroxide on it and it killed whatever it was. As soon as the Hydrogen Peroxide hit the infected skin it turned it charcoal black. I understand that our skin is actually composed of five layers, the top layer was still there. I could see the blackened area through the top layer of skin around the edges. I scraped the top layer of skin back with a plastic spoon (about a quarter of an inch around the circumference of the infected area) in the places I could see the blackened area under the skin. Then I put Hydrogen Peroxide on it again. Again I could see the blackened area under the top layer of skin around the circumference, so I scraped it back and put more peroxide on it. I had to do this several times until the original size of the infected area grew from the size of a quarter to a black area the size of a silver dollar.
It took several months for the large black areas to go away. I just used Neosporin + Pain on it to help stop the itching but it did go away. The area's that were infected have lost their pigmentation. The areas won't tan, they are milky white.
Once when I was out without a shirt on a nurse asked me about the white spots. I told her this story and she called one of her loved ones and had me talk to her. She tried the Hydrogen Peroxide on her similar spots and had the same blackened reaction. The infection stopped growing. I have tried to get the word about my condition out with little success. I am sure that there are many different kinds of weird skin conditions. I hope that this can help you in some way and if not this message may help someone else `somewhere.
Good luck, you'll be in my prayers.
John Honsaker
Kissimmee, Fl.
There is a combination of plant extracts that kill bacteria and viruses such as MRSA, Swine Flu, and H1N1, among many many other things. The research is clinically poven and I can testify personally to it's ability to do things that NO chemically based pharmaceutical has done for me and many that I personally know. It's modern day discovery is only 4 years old, so you won't hear about it from the doctors. Don't be angry with them though, by federal law they can only prescribe what they are allowed to by regulation or they can loose their licenses. In order to save your daughter's life YOU will have to choose to empower yourself with knowledge. Work with your doctors, use their knowledge base but use your commonsense and the Divine inspiration you have be afforded as a child of a loving Father in Heaven and Follow it! Remember who is the Author of healing in the Eternal Scheme. '...an herb of the field hath been created for EVERY aliment of mankind" The question is...Do you believe Him? I will send you the info. if you desire. God Bless you and those you love! YourRightToHeal@gmail.com
http://www.newsoxy.com/world/aimee-copeland-critical-condition-72133.html
It could be as small as tossing a newspaper over their fence. Every little effort can help.
By subjecting the effected part to high temperatures(non survival temperatures, using hot air, hot water), remaining body can be kept in cool state. This has to be done along with the prescribed antibiotics.
Similarly for dental infections too, usually dentist will pull it out, but using electrical heating tip, size of the tooth, tip has to be touched on the effected tooth for some time.