ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
A Georgia woman battling a flesh-eating disease has reached another milestone. Aimee Copeland's parents wheeled her out of her hospital room and outside on Monday.
Monday morning, her father, Andy Copeland, posted a blog post on AimeeCopeland.com.
In part Copeland said, "For one full hour I pushed Aimee around, giving her a tour of the outside of the hospital while her mother followed along with a water jug for Aimee's hydration. All three of us talked while we rolled along and eventually we came to rest near a grove of pine trees. The smile on Aimee's face said that this was the best therapy that she has had in weeks. Not one thought of the pain in her abdomen, not the slightest concern over her time away from the ICU. Fresh scenery and close proximity to nature was all she needed. Nature therapy – the basis of Aimee's master's thesis."
Hospital officials in Augusta said that Aimee's condition was upgraded from serious to good.
The 24-year-old woman developed necrotizing fasciitis after cutting her leg in a fall May 1 from a homemade zip line over a west Georgia river. Her left leg, other foot and both hands have been amputated.
A statement from the hospital says guidelines for patients in good condition include stable vital signs within normal limits. Also, patients in good condition are conscious and comfortable; and "indicators are excellent."
Copeland also said in his blog that Aimee is in less pain than last week.
"It has been a week since my last blog. At that time, Aimee was suffering from intense pain from at least eight areas of her body. Today her pain is concentrated in only one area of her body, primarily her abdomen, the donor site of her muscle flap. Aimee's other donor site, her right thigh, from which the skin was taken to complete her skin graft, is healing rapidly and her pain in that area has subsided significantly. The area where she received the skin graft is healing well and the grafts are adhering as expected. Her progress from where she was a week ago is as night is to day."
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
