Ga. woman battling flesh-eating bacteria speaks

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The father of a young Georgia woman battling a flesh-eating disease says his daughter has spoken for the first time since she was taken to an Augusta hospital weeks ago for treatment.

Andy Copeland said in an interview with The Associated Press Monday that he was in church Sunday morning and missed his daughter Aimee's first words. But his other daughter, Paige, told him Aimee said, "Hello. Whoa. Wow, my mind is blown."

Writing on his Facebook page, Andy Copeland said: "Our baby can talk."

Twenty-four-year-old Aimee Copeland developed necrotizing fasciitis after cutting her leg in a May 1 fall from a homemade zip line over a west Georgia river. Her left leg, other foot and both hands have been amputated.

She began breathing on her own last week.