In 2012, 24-year-old Aimee Copeland attended the University of Georgia as a graduate student.That year, she took time off to party with her friends and get ready for graduation in the last weeks of high school.
They decided to go to a lake close by and ride ziplines over the water. The risk-takers wanted to give it a try immediately.Aimee had no clue that her life would change so dramatically at that very moment.
While flying along a long, stretched wire, one may take in the gorgeous countryside below. There is no danger involved in most situations.
However, things did not go as planned when it was Aimee’s time. When the cable failed, Aimee fell down the edge of the cliff. That day, she lost a leg in an amputation.
Aimee’s relocation to the hospital didn’t mark the end of the tragedy, unfortunately. A lot worse than the physicians anticipated. Because flesh-eating bacteria had made their way into the wound, the 24-year-old’s life was in imminent danger.
Aimee’s relocation to the hospital didn’t mark the end of the tragedy, unfortunately. A lot worse than the physicians anticipated. Because flesh-eating bacteria had made their way into the wound, the 24-year-old’s life was in imminent danger.
Her serious wound on her leg became infected with the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila after she fell, causing necrotizing fasciitis, also known as a flesh-eating infection.
After 11 surgery and much rehabilitation, Aimee was successful and adapted, but she was left with no hands or legs.
Aimee has spent the last four years learning to live with her injuries, and her “warrior” persona is now a source of inspiration for many.
Aimee is on the beach in a bikini, proudly displaying her many scars and limb differences.It has taken me a very long time to adjust to and accept my new physique,” she reflected in her essay.
There is great worth in our shortcomings because they make us uniquely human. Scars and skin grafting may make a person more interesting. What matters more than possessions is what one does with them.
In 2023, Aimee Copeland is still spreading hope and advocating for the rights of amputees and persons with disabilities.
Aimee is a psychology doctoral candidate at the University of West Georgia and an activist in her spare time.
You, Aimee, encourage me to be a more confident and capable female. You have been a tremendous inspiration to us all.