Sea World helicopter crash survivor, 10, shares heartfelt message
Nicholas Tadros was on board one of two helicopters that collided mid-air on January 2, killing his mum Vanessa.
A 10-year-old boy who miraculously survived a deadly Gold Coast helicopter crash has spoken for the first time since having his right leg amputated below the knee.
Nicholas Tadros was on board one of two helicopters that collided mid-air near Sea World on January 2, killing his mother Vanessa Tadros, British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, and pilot Ashley Jenkinson.
Although he survived, the brave little boy was placed on life support as doctors battled to heal his shattered body. “The only thing I think he didn’t really break was his right arm, everything else, multiple breaks,” his father Simon Tadros told A Current Affair.
“How he survived is a miracle”.
From hospital — where he remains — on Monday night, Nicholas shared some good news about his recovery and thanked his fellow Australians “for everything”.
“I know they’re always praying for me and caring for me,” he told the program’s host Ally Langdon.
The 10-year-old also excitedly revealed that with his dad’s help, his health has improved greatly and he’s now out of the Intensive Care Unit.
“My kidneys have woken up and I’m no more [sic] on the fluid restrictions, and my liver levels have gotten better and all my blood test results have come back really good,” he said, adding that his dad had “never left” his side “no matter what”.
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Nicholas has also had his feeding tube removed, meaning he can once again enjoy his favourite foods — proudly exclaiming he was looking forward to a McDonald’s Big Mac and a slurpee for lunch.
Nicholas excited to 'live a normal life again'
Following “countless” operations, including the five-hour-long amputation, Mr Tadros said the second part of his son’s journey is “just beginning”.
“The bravery [is] showing and he’s just pushing through every kind of hardship. He's just pushing through and the results are showing. And that’s full credit to Nicholas,” he said.
Although doctors fought hard to save the boy’s leg, they were forced to remove it due to an infection.
Nicholas appears to have taken the change in stride, joking to A Current Affair that he was “initially nervous” because he thought surgeons were going to “chop it off” with a chainsaw from Bunnings.
Due to get his prosthetic leg in the next few weeks, the boy said he hopes to start “going swimming, doing karate, going back to school, [and] living a normal life again”.
The Australian Lions Foundation and A Current Affair have teamed up to create a fundraiser for the Tadros family.
“Nicholas’s father Simon can no longer work as a truck driver and won’t for the foreseeable future as he needs to be by his son’s side for the long road ahead," Australian Lions Foundation chairperson Tony Benbow OAM said.
“Nicholas will spend months in hospital and will likely need medical care for the rest of his life.”
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