SNELLVILLE, Ga. — As Aimee Copeland spends her full first day at a rehabilitation center, crews tore down part of her Snellville home to make way for an addition that will suit her needs.
“(Aimee) just inspires you, makes you want to get it done,” said Casey Moon, of K & C Services, a local remodeling contractor who donated his time and labor to tear down a back porch and make room for what many are affectionately calling ‘Aimee’s Wing’.
Copeland was released for an Augusta hospital Monday, after nearly two months of specialized care and grueling surgeries.
The University of West Georgia graduate student contracted a flesh-eating bacteria after falling from a homemade zipline and cutting her leg May 1.
Doctors were forced to amputate her leg, foot and both hands to save her.
Despite slim chances of survival, Copeland defied the odds and handled the devastating news of her amputations with grace.
“She is an inspiration,” Moon said. “Just to consider what they’ve gone through, and how they’ve handled it.”
Local architect Rob Ponder offered to help the family with the plans, he said.
Moon showed Channel 2's Manuel Bojorquez the blueprints for the nearly 1,800 square foot, two-story addition.
The plans include an exercise room, an elevator, a sun room and a study so Copeland can complete her master's degree in psychology.
Crews, many of them volunteering their time and labor, have six to eight weeks to finish the project. That's how long Copeland is
expected to remain at an undisclosed rehabilitation center, learning basic movements.
Copeland's story has garnered national attention, and now it's generated a community effort to make her home a place she can thrive in.
“When I saw an opportunity to help, I couldn’t pass it up,” Moon said.
WSBTV
