The husband of a mother who died in a horror helicopter crash near the Sea World theme park has revealed chilling details about one of their final conversations.
Vanessa Tadros, 36, was one of four passengers killed when two helicopters collided on the Gold Coast on January 2.
She was sitting beside her 10-year-old son Nicholas when the crash happened.
Incredibly Nicholas survived the crash but has spent the last two months in intensive care recovering from life-altering injuries.
His father Simon Tadros had been with them on the trip but didn’t join the pair during the flight as he is afriaid of heights.
While speakign with A Current Affair host Ally Langdon on Monday night, Mr Tadros recalled one of the last conversations he had with his wife before she boarded the fateful flight with Nicholas.
“I remember saying to my wife, I was thinking it’s amazing how quick they turn over these helicopters,” he said.
“My wife just turned around to me and said, “Babe, I’m sure they know what they’re doing””.
Moments later he would watch the nightmare unfold before him.
He said he still hasn’t had the chance to grieve the loss of his wife after spending every waking moment at Nicholas’ bedside.
“It’s been hard, it’s a daily struggle … I don’t leave his bedside until 12, 1 in the morning,” he said.
“Even leaving to go lay my wife to rest … it was just hard to keep my mind focused on the one thing, I didn’t want to leave him … but we gotta do what we gotta do.”
Nicholas was unable to attend his mother’s funeral, and doctors expect he will need to remain in hospital for at least another five months after doctors decided he will need to have his right foot amputated.
“He’s conscious, he’s awake, he’s aware of everything … his mental state of mind, he’s not in a good place, but he’s not giving up,” said Mr Tadros.
Soon after regaining consciousness, Nicholas asked Simon the question his father had been dreading.
“He said, ‘Where’s mum?’ said Simon, “I said she was in the crash with you.
He said, ‘Yeah, I know, but where’s mum?’ I said, ‘Baby boy, mum had to go to Jesus.’
“And he just turned his head and closed his eyes,” bringing Ally Langdon to tears.
Nicholas suffered significant injuries in the crash breaking multiple bones, his kidneys are still not functioning unaided and his lungs collapsed from inhaling jet fuel.
“He said I’m not going to give up, Dad. I’m not going to leave you alone,” his father Simon he said in an emotional interview with Ally Langdon on Monday night’s A Current Affair.
“He’s a strong-willed boy. He’s a good kid.”
Simon admits the financial stress of the situation is “a big worry”.
“It’s something I put in the back of my head right now; my son’s gotta be my focus,” said Mr Tadros.
“All the rehab and everything Nicholas is going to need for the rest of his life … it’s definitely a worry.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau continues to investigate the crash, and predicts a final report will be delivered some time between July and September 2024.
Meanwhile, Nicholas’ martial arts Academy has been busy raising funds to help support his recovery.
At the time of writing, a GoFundMe page set-up by the dojo’s sensei, Andrew Nasr, has raised $144,766, smashing its $80k goal.
The fundraiser can be found here.
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