A young boy who miraculously survived a horror helicopter crash on the Gold Coast has achieved his ultimate goal just months after being critically injured.
Nicky Tadros was critically injured when two helicopters collided mid-air at Sea World in January, an incident that claimed his mother’s life and led to his leg being amputated.
His mother Vanessa Tadros was killed alongside British tourists Ron and Diane Hughes and Sea World Helicopters chief pilot Ash Jenkinson. The other helicopter managed to land on a sand bank.
Despite the mammoth effort to save Nicky’s life, doctors were unable to save his right leg, with the young boy having to undergo a five and a half-hour amputation operation.
Though Nicky faced huge odds, he has finally achieved his dream of becoming a black belt in karate, almost eight months after the accident
“I’ve been really trying my hardest to get this belt ever since I started karate; my goal has been to get my black belt and I finally got it,” he told A Current Affair.
After his amputation, Nicky had to learn to walk again with his new prosthetic leg, and was only able to kick again in June.
His father revealed the 11-year-old would do double lessons twice a week, refusing to let his injuries “hold him back”.
“All he wanted to do was get back on the floor on the dojo mat and continue that journey to get his black belt,” his father Simon Tadros said.
“The fact that he achieved it made me really, really proud of him.
“He’s fought the good fight, he was brave all the way through it and from where he was to where he is now.
“It’s a miracle and full credit to Nicolas for being brave and strong and really, really resilient.”