( CNN ) -- The West Georgia University graduate student infected two weeks ago with a rare `` flesh-eating '' bacteria was making progress , albeit slowly , her father said Tuesday . `` She was in high spirits , '' Andy Copeland told CNN about his daughter , Aimee Copeland , 24 , who was on a ventilator in intensive care at Doctors Hospital in Augusta , Georgia . `` She appears to be remembering day-to-day different conversations we 've had . We actually referred to some conversations she had yesterday , so her memory is -- short-term memory -- appears to be coming back , which is a very encouraging sign . '' As a result of the damage done by the bacterial infection called necrotizing fasciitis , doctors have removed part of Copeland 's abdomen , amputated a leg and expect to remove her fingers , her father said on a website run by the University of West Georgia Psychology Department . `` 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 , '' he said . `` They are awaiting a safe time before embarking on surgery for this . '' Copeland , who has been on life support since May 4 , regained consciousness a week later , according to the school 's website . The master 's student in psychology at the school was with friends on May 1 near the Little Tallapoosa River , about 50 miles west of Atlanta , when she grabbed onto a zip line . It snapped and she fell . The accident left a gash in her left calf that took 22 staples to close . Three days later , still in pain , she went to an emergency room , where doctors determined she had contracted the flesh-devouring bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila . She was taken to Augusta for surgery . But , as of Tuesday night , she had not yet fully grasped the extent of her illness , her father said . `` As far as all the specifics , we steered her away from the experience itself . To me , it probably does not good in her healing process to bring up any bad memories , at this point . '' Bored with television , his daughter was reading and trying to communicate with her family , the father said on the website . But the ventilator made talking difficult , he said . `` Some of the simplest words can take minutes to decipher when you have a tube interfering with your lips and movement of your jaw . '' For example , he added , `` lamb chop '' turned out to be `` laptop . '' Copeland has been infused with 177 units of blood since she contracted the infection . That 's more than 168 pints ; the average human body contains about 10 pints of blood , according to America 's Blood Centers . `` You 've got a lot of need , '' the father said . `` We 've got blood drives in Augusta , Carrollton , Winder , Lawrenceville , Snellville , '' he added , referring to communities in Georgia . The bacteria are `` remarkably common in the water and in the environment , '' according to Dr . Buddy Creech , an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University . `` When it gets into those deeper tissues , it has a remarkable ability to destroy the tissues that surround it in sort of this hunt for nutrition , '' he said . `` When it does that , those tissues die , and you see the inflammation and the swelling and the destruction that can be very difficult to control . '' Her wound became infected , `` and the infection ( ran ) wild , '' Creech said . The infection is fatal in about one in four cases , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website . Students at the school have rallied to Copeland 's aid . A blood drive was to be held Tuesday at the student center . A second blood drive is planned next week in Gwinnett County , where the family lives .
`` She appears to be remembering ... different conversations with the same person over and over. Blood drives are launched in several communities for Aimee Copeland . She has been on life support since May 4 .