Aimee Copeland's Stolen Customized Van Found

“Sylvia” has been found.

The custom-made accessible van owned by Aimee Copeland, the Gwinnett native who endured several amputations three years ago due to flesh-eating bacteria, was found Monday after it had been stolen over the weekend in Atlanta.

According to a post on Copeland’s Facebook page:

“Sylvia has been found!!! She sustained minor body damage during her nights spent in the hands of criminals and unfortunately the wheelchair is gone. Aimee is just happy to have her back! Thanks so much for the support and prayers. They were answered!”

The van, which was donated to her in 2012, was stolen Saturday night in the Old Fourth Ward area of Atlanta. Copeland’s titanium wheelchair also was stolen.

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Due to the theft, she had to travel 5 miles in her wheelchair to get to the Shepherd Center for a 7:30 a.m. meeting on Monday, she posted.

Copeland, a South Gwinnett High School graduate, contracted the flesh eating virus after a May 2012 zip-line accident, during which she where she fell into a creek and cut her leg. In the process, she picked up a potentially fatal bacterium from the water that eats away the skin. The infection caused a condition called “necrotizing fasciitis,” more widely known as “flesh-eating disease.”

As a result, Aimee lost her left leg, her right foot, and both hands.