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Miraculous moment ‘beautiful brave boy’ says his first words when he wakes up from a coma after a horror helicopter crash, giving his concerned mother a beaming smile and a thumbs up from the hospital bed.
- León de Silva was in a doomed helicopter that crashed on Monday
- He survived but was placed in an induced coma with a fractured skull.
- Injured mother Winnie has now revealed that she has awakened from a coma
- He smiled and gave her a thumbs up on the video call and said ‘My leg’
The survivor of a horrific Gold Coast helicopter crash that killed four has revealed the first words her son said to her after waking from a coma in hospital.
Winnie De Silva and her nine-year-old son Leon were aboard one of Sea World’s helicopters when it collided with another helicopter on January 2, sending it hurtling onto the sandbar below.
Four people – pilot Ash Jenkinson, British newlyweds Diane and Ron Hughes and Sydney’s wife Vanessa Tadros – died in the crash.
Ms. De Silva, her son and Ms. Tadros’s 10-year-old son, Nicholas, were seriously injured and rushed to hospital, where Leon was placed in an induced coma.
She has now woken up from her coma and given the all-clear to her mother Winnie, from Geelong, Victoria, despite still being in severe pain.
She revealed that her first words after the ordeal of terror were: ‘My leg…’
Winnie Ms De Silva (pictured with her son) revealed that Leon’s first words out of the coma were “My leg” as he continued to recover at Brisbane Children’s Hospital.
Leon (pictured) has a fractured skull and was in an induced coma
In a written statement from her bed at Gold Coast University Hospital, Ms De Silva thanked people for their “kind thoughts and healing prayers” for her and her son.
“They’re helping me stay positive that Leon and I will get through this,” said Ms. De Silva.
Ms De Silva revealed that her son had woken up from a coma and spoke to him at Brisbane Children’s Hospital via video call.
“He gave me a ‘thumbs up’ and one of his big, beautiful smiles,” she said.
‘Today he uttered two words, ‘my leg’, which gives me hope that he is getting stronger every day.
Winnie De Silva (pictured) thanked the public for their “kind thoughts and healing prayers” in a written statement from her bed at Gold Coast University Hospital.
“With more surgeries scheduled for me next week, my entire focus is getting better so that in the next two weeks I can be with Leon and support his recovery.
“I can’t wait to hug my beautiful, brave boy!”
The De Silva family, including Winnie’s husband Neil, had decided to splurge on the helicopter ride while on vacation from Geelong West in Victoria.
De Silva was not aboard the helicopter with his wife and son when he saw it take off from the helipad before colliding with the blades of a second landing helicopter.
Winnie De Silva and her son were rushed to hospital after the deadly helicopter crash
Two other Auckland holiday couples, Elmarie and Riaan Steenberg and Edward and Marle Swart, were on board the other helicopter which managed to land safely.
Tributes have continued to pour in for the four victims, with a GoFundMe for the De Silva family raising more than $60,000.
“The generosity of the people has been amazing, and I can’t thank them enough,” said Ms. De Silva.
“More importantly, I continue to pray for the recovery of young Nicholas, who was sitting near me in the helicopter, and I offer my sincere condolences to the families of the other passengers. This is an unthinkable and difficult time for all of us.’
Four people – pilot Ash Jenkinson, British newlyweds Diane and Ron Hughes and Sydney’s wife Vanessa Tadros – died in the crash.
The shocking air tragedy is still being reviewed by investigators, that he will not be able to have a verdict until mid-2024.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the initial evidence-gathering phase of the investigation would last 6-8 weeks.
“A final report will be released when the investigation is complete,” Commissioner Mitchell said.
“However, if critical security issues are identified at any stage during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will promptly notify the relevant parties so that appropriate security measures can be taken.”