Aimee Copeland's Home Renovated to Aid Her Recovery

July 4, 2012— -- Aimee Copeland, the Georgia student who lost her left leg, right foot and hands to flesh-eating disease, will soon return home to a house redesigned to aid her recovery.

Copeland was released Monday from Doctors Hospital in Augusta, two months after she cut open her calf in a zip line accident and contracted necrotizing fasciitis.

Over the next six weeks, she will learn to use a wheelchair and prosthetic limbs at an inpatient rehabilitation facility. But work is already under way at Copeland's childhood home in Snellville, Ga., to accommodate her needs.

"Right now our house is not Aimee-friendly because it's very small and compact," her father Andy Copeland said. "We're going to add an Aimee wing."

The two-story addition will house a bedroom, a fitness room, a sunroom and a study, where Copeland can work on her master's degree. An elevator will make the two-story space easy for her to navigate.

"The first step is to provide patients with self independence," said Dr. Alberto Esquenazi, chief medical officer of MossRehab in Philadelphia, describing the long road to recovery. "She has the advantage that she's a young woman, and from what I understand a very determined young woman. She also appears to have a very supportive environment, between her family, her friends and her community."

Copeland's community is playing a big part in the home renovation. A local architect volunteered to design the space and several other community members signed on to build it.

"While she's getting better, we need to have this house prepared so she has a good viable home to come to," Andy Copeland said. "God is opening doors to make it happen."