( CNN ) -- The condition of Lana Kuykendall , the South Carolina woman infected with flesh-eating bacteria shortly after giving birth to twins nearly two months ago , is improving , her doctor said Friday . `` Her leg wounds are healing well , and she 's making excellent headway on therapy , '' said Dr. Kevin Kopera , medical director for Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital in Greenville . The recovery for such infections typically requires four to six weeks of inpatient rehabilitation , followed by weeks of outpatient rehabilitation , he said . `` Her strength continues to improve daily , '' husband Darren said in a news release . He said she can walk up to 50 feet at a time with a walker . His wife undergoes physical and occupational therapy twice daily , her tracheotomy device has been removed , and she can speak normally , the release said . The 36-year-old mother 's occupational therapy includes diapering and lifting a doll , and she can spend several hours per day with twins Abigail and Ian . Kuykendall was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis on May 11 , four days after giving birth , and taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital . She has undergone 20 surgical procedures , including skin grafts . But she did not require any amputations , as recently occurred in the case of 24-year-old Aimee Copeland of Georgia , who lost her hands , a leg and a foot as a result of the infection . Kuykendall was moved last week to the rehabilitation hospital , where she was in good condition , hospital officials said . But she faces a long rehabilitation , said Dr. Bill Kelly , hospital epidemiologist for Greenville Hospital System , last week . Kuykendall , a paramedic , went to the hospital after noticing a rapidly expanding bruise on her leg , her husband , a firefighter , said last month . A variety of the bacteria , which are common in the environment but rarely cause serious infections , can cause the disease . When they enter the bloodstream -- as through a cut -- doctors typically move aggressively to excise even healthy tissue near the infection site in hopes of ridding the body of the bacteria . The disease attacks and destroys healthy tissue and is fatal in about 20 % of cases , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Dr. William Schaffner , chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center , estimated that fewer than 250 such cases occur each year in the United States , though estimates are imprecise because doctors do not have to report the cases to health authorities .
` ` Her leg muscles are healing well , '' says the rehab center 's medical director . Lana Kuykendall 's husband says her strength is improving daily . The disease is fatal in about 90 % of cases , federal health officials say .