Nicholas Tadros, the boy who survived the SeaWorld helicopter tragedy, has delivered a heartwrenching joke about having his right foot amputated.
Flanked by his dad Simon Tadros, and karate teacher Andrew Nasr, the brave 10-year-old gave a television interview two months after the tragedy claimed the life of his mum Vanessa and three others.
The western Sydney boy has been hospitalised since the chopper he was in collided with another mid-air before plummeting onto a sandbank in the Gold Coast on January 2.
He was in a coma and has undergone about 30 surgeries. Among them was a harrowing five-hour operation to remove Nicholas’ badly damaged right leg from the knee down.
‘At the beginning I was a bit nervous because I thought they’d get a chainsaw and chop it off, from Bunnings Warehouse,’ he told A Current Affair’s Allison Langdon.
Flanked by his dad Simon Tadros (left), and karate teacher Andrew Nasr (right), the brave boy gave his first television interview two months after the traumatic chopper crash
Mr Tadros said he’d lost count of all the operations and procedures his son has had, as he opened up about the initial stages when Nicholas on life support.
‘Does that mean I was half dead?’ Nicholas asked.
Despite being on the mend and eager to return home, the youngster admitted a normal day in hospital, even 10 weeks after the crash, still involves waking up and vomiting.
But Nicholas told Langdon he was looking forward to a McDonald’s meal as his body slowly gets back on track.
‘My kidney has woken up, yeah I’m having Maccas for lunch,’ he said.
‘Mate, that is awesome … everybody wants you to get better,’ Langdon said.
‘I want to get better too,’ Nicholas replied.
Nicholas’ dad Simon Tadros (pictured together), who has been by his son’s bedside every day since the devastating crash held his son’s hand during the emotional interview
Sea World crash survivor Nicholas Tadros (pictured left with his father Simon), 10, has has undergone 30 operations including one last month where his right foot was amputated
He waved at the cameras and gave them a brave smile and thumbs up as he thanked everyone for their overwhelming support and prayers.
‘Thanks Australia, I’m getting better now,’ he said.
Mr Tadros told Langdon it was ‘priceless’ to see his son smiling and asked Nicholas if the boy would always be his right hand man.
He revealed it had been a ‘daily struggle’ grieving for his wife while being by his son’s bedside in hospital but said the least he could do was be there for Nicholas.
The grieving husband last month shared the last moment he had with his wife Vanessa and Nicholas before the doomed aircraft took off.
The family had been on the Gold Coast for a well deserved holiday.
‘I just gave them both a hug and a kiss and I said, ‘Enjoy it…have fun,’ he recalled.
Nicholas Tadros (pictured), 10, said he was well enough to have McDonald’s now that his kidneys had ‘woken up’ in a segment set to broadcast across the country next week
The grieving husband shared last month about the last moment he had with his wife Vanessa and Nicholas (pictured together) before the doomed aircraft took off
‘I’ll see you when you get back down’.’
The doting father said he didn’t join the pair because of his fear of heights.
Minutes later, Mr Tadros recalled hearing a ‘big bang’ and could only watch on in horror as the aircraft collided with another helicopter in mid-air.
The tragic incident claimed four lives, including Nicholas’s mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, UK newlyweds Ron and Diane Hughes and pilot Ash Jenkinson, 40.
Mr Tadros recalled the moment detectives informed him of the horror news his wife had died.
‘Those were the worst words I’ve ever heard in my life,’ he said.
‘I was terrified. I lost my wife. To lose my son as well, that’s my whole life ripped apart, that’s everyone gone.’
Nicholas was on the doomed joy flight that collided with another chopper mid-air before plummeting onto a sandbank (pictured) in the Gold Coast on January 2
Mr Tadros said his son was ‘keeping his spirits’ despite ‘still struggling on a day-to-day basis’.
‘He’s trying to comprehend still what really happened to him,’ he said.
Mr Tadros had previously revealed the full extent of his boy’s injuries.
‘He broke nearly everything from top to bottom, you know, his arms, his legs, his sternum, his hips, his thighs, his legs, his arms, ribs, lungs collapsing,’ Mr Tadros said.
‘The only thing I think he didn’t really break was his right arm. How he survived is a miracle.’
