The father of the 24-year-old Snellville woman trying to survive a flesh-eating bacterial infection says her doctors are calling her recovery “mind boggling.”

But they also say Aimee Copeland may soon lose her fingers.

"Aimee will suffer the loss of her fingers, however physicians have hope of bringing life back to the palms of her hands, which could allow her the muscle control to use helpful prosthetics," said her father Andy Copeland in a Facebook update late Saturday evening. "They are awaiting a safe time before embarking on surgery for this,” the elder Copeland said.

The University of West Georgia student is still in critical condition at an Augusta hospital. Doctors have already amputated her leg. Copeland is alert, but remains on a ventalor, Mr. Copeland says.

"The words I hear from the medical professionals to describe Aimee's continued recovery are "astonishing," "incredible," "confounding," "mind boggling" and "unbelievable." All those are fitting words. My favorite word is "miracle," Copeland said in an earlier post Saturday.

Aimee contracted the infection -- Aeromonas hydrophila – after she cut her leg during a ziplining accident along the Little Tallapoosa River near Carrollton May 1^st. Her homemade zip line broke and Aimee fell about six feet into the water and tore open her calf on the rocks below.

Usually, Aeromonas hydrophila leads to a slight infection or a stomachache. But this time the bacteria went wild. Doctors say an infection this extreme is so rare; they don’t know how many people have actually contracted it.

A blood drive is set for Tuesday at the University of West Georgia. The South Gwinnett rotary club will also hold a blood drive for Aimee at from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.