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Aimee Copeland gives special message to Shepherd Center team

Stouffer took a video on her laptop to show the team at the Sheperd Center and they were very moved by what Copeland said.

ATLANTA — A medical team at the Shepherd Center in Buckhead heard for the first time Wednesday a message from Aimee Copeland: Thank you.

Channel 2's Linda Stouffer caught up with Copeland in New York after her national interview Tuesday with Katie Couric on the "Katie" show.

Copeland told Stouffer she wanted to thank "all of my great nurses both at Doctors Hospital and at Shepherd, my occupational therapists, physical therapists, all of my doctors and wound nurses."

Stouffer took a video on her laptop to show the team at the Sheperd Center and they were very moved by what Copeland said.

"Awesome! It was good to see her up and at 'em," therapist Jennifer Smith said.

"She was adjusting and realizing what had happened, even during her time here. She was still realizing she didn't have arms and legs anymore, it was a lot of hard work to work through that," Dr. Anna Elmers said.

Elmers said her team is known for pushing patients to their limits in physical therapy.

"They look cute and everything, but they are like boot camp instructors," Elmers said.

Copeland was treated at the Shepherd Center after a painful series of surgeries and skin grafts. She lost her hands, feet and a leg to a rare flesh-eating bacteria.

Specialists worked to fit her with a prosthetic leg so Copeland could walk with the aid of a walker.

"With the prosthetic fittings --we had to go through several, several, several trials just to get it right and comfortable for her to use. We did several laps around the gym and the halls, so she got her workouts in that's for sure," Smith told Stouffer.

Copeland wants a second prosthetic leg after her skin grafts heal.

Team Elmers (named for the doctor) also told Stouffer that Copeland's positive attitude made a big difference, calling her a "problem solver" who "puts her mind to it.

They said she often would make advances on her own, accelerated schedule.

"I look forward to seeing her in clinic and she's going to do great," Elmers said.

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