The horrifying and tragic story of 24-year-old Aimee Copeland struck a mixture of fear, panic and sympathy in the hearts of parents around the world this past weekend. Copeland had her leg amputated and will soon lose her fingers after flesh-eating bacteria infected a wound from a zip-lining accident. But through it all, her family has somehow managed to remain optimistic.
"We just take it each day at a time," said dad Andy Copeland on NBC's Today show earlier this morning. "My daughter's strong, she really is."
That positive approach has led to some progress–Copeland's dad revealed that he and his wife were able to begin communicating with his daughter by reading her lips. And though she is still not fully aware of what happened or of her fragile state of health, Andy says that at times, she still (amazingly enough!) sounds like herself.
Read more ¿Qué más?: Flesh-eating disease is exactly why I'd never let my kids on the zip line!
"She told us she was thirsty, and I asked her, 'What's the first thing you want when they remove the tube?' and she said 'ice cream'. That made us all laugh."
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Medics have said that Copeland suffered no brain damage or irreversible injury to the lungs. Her parents and doctors are also remaining hopeful about saving her palms, which would allow her to more easily use prosthetics when the time came.
I give Copeland's family, and in particular her mom and dad, so much credit for remaining so brave and strong through such a terrible ordeal. I can't even imagine how heartbreaking it must be to watch your daughter go from strong and healthy to critically wounded in what seems like the blink of an eye. But their everlasting optimism is obviously doing wonders, since Copeland is slowly recovering, despite that the doctors initially said her chance of survival was slim to none.
And though I'm sure it will be extremely difficult to have to explain to Copeland the full truth at some point, I can only hope that they remain positive and continue to allow their hope to comfort them through this devastating period.
Their optimism is inspiring and an example to all parents of what it really means to never give up on your child. My thoughts remain with Copeland and her family!
Have you ever had to put on a seriously brave face for your kids? Tell us in the comments below.
Image via NBC
