Greenville , South Carolina ( CNN ) -- Lana Kuykendall -- the South Carolina woman infected with flesh-eating bacteria shortly after giving birth to twins more than two months ago -- will go home soon , possibly as early as Tuesday , doctors said Monday . `` She 'll be heading home this week , '' said Dr. Spence Taylor , vice president for academics at Greenville Hospital System . `` She 's making a great recovery . '' Kuykendall , who clasped hands with her husband , Darren , as she spoke to CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen , said her recovery has had ups and downs . `` I 've had my moments where I 've had myself a good cry , but then you just go on , '' she told CNN . Darren Kuykendall said family and friends have been caring for the twins , named Ian and Abigail . Dr. Kevin Kopera , medical director for Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital , said Lana Kuykendall wanted an aggressive rehabilitation approach . `` That meant three hours of therapy a day at the minimum , '' he said . `` I initially thought she would be with us for four to six weeks and she 's leaving on day 26 ( Tuesday ) . It took a lot of blood , sweat and tears -- literally . '' Lana Kuykendall , wearing a blue T-shirt that read `` FAITH HOPE LANA , '' said the day after getting the babies home from the hospital she noticed what looked like a bruise on her leg . When Kuykendall , a nurse and paramedic , inspected it closer she thought it might be a blood clot , and she had her husband , a firefighter and EMT , take her to the hospital . `` Fortunately she had the good sense to notice this was more serious than usual , '' said epidemiologist Dr. Bill Kelly . Doctors there outlined the spot with a pen and saw the discolored area move . They took her to surgery , while one of the doctors told Darren Kuykendall how serious her condition actually was . Flesh-eating bacteria explained . Lana Kuykendall said she does n't dwell on why this happened to her . A friend of the Kuykendalls ' had a similar case in 2007 . That showed her it is an opportunistic disease , she said . `` There 's no point in asking , 'Why me ? ' `` she told CNN . `` It just happens . '' She still faces months of in-home and then outpatient rehab , Kopera said . Kuykendall was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis on May 11 , four days after giving birth , and taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital . She has undergone more than 20 surgical procedures , including skin grafts and reconstructive surgery . 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 . Family readies home for Aimee Copeland 's return . A number of bacteria , which are common in the environment but rarely cause serious infections , can lead to the disease . When the bacteria get into the bloodstream -- such as through a cut -- doctors typically move aggressively to excise even healthy tissue near the infection site in hopes of ensuring none of the dangerous bacteria remain . The disease attacks and destroys healthy tissue and is fatal in about 20 % of cases , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . According to Dr. William Schaffner , chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center , fewer than 250 such cases occur each year in the United States , though estimates are imprecise because doctors are n't required to report the cases to health authorities . Advocate : Story of rare bacterial infection raising awareness . CNN 's John Bonifield contributed to this report .
Mom gave birth to twins , then was infected by flesh-eating bacteria . She died of the infection and her babies were born with a different set of genes than their mother had. Doctor says she 's made a strong recovery . Kuykendall has undergone more than 20 surgeries .