Flesh-Eating Victim Refuses Pain Meds

A Georgia woman who has lost a leg, a foot, and both hands to a flesh-eating disease is refusing to take pain pills for certain procedures, the AP reports. The main reason: Aimee Copeland's education in holistic pain control techniques makes her feel like a "traitor to her convictions" when she takes pain medications, said her father Andy. Also, he said, morphine gives her hallucinations and leaves her feeling groggy and confused.

On the upside, her condition has improved from critical to serious after a successful skin graft this week. "The area of her wound, which I saw for the first time on Sunday during a dressing change, is massive," wrote Andy on his blog. "The nurse who completed Aimee's dressing change was astonished at Aimee's insistence to avoid morphine during the procedure, as was her mother and I. I know the pain was significant, but Aimee's courage is greater." (More flesh-eating infection stories.)