Post by Reverse Stockholm Syndrome on Feb 18, 2005 11:24:21 GMT 10
Umm... Mega! She's single again. I call dibs!
www.smh.com.au/news/World/My-lifes-been-transformed-model-who-survived-tsunami/2005/02/17/1108609349549.html
Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova says the tsunami that crumpled her body and killed her boyfriend had transformed her life - and she might turn her back on modelling forever.
"I'm different now, with a completely different view of the world," Nemcova, 25, told a Czech newspaper this week in her first interview since leaving the hospital last month.
After surviving the tsunami by clinging to a tree for eight hours, she said she no longer cared about her old life of fashion and fame.
"Believe me, it really isn't important," she said.
"There are so many important things in the world like health, love and peace in your soul."
Her father, bricklayer Oldrich Nemec, doubts she will ever resume her old life, unless it helps raise money for tsunami victims.
"I think she will now part with modelling," he told the New York Daily News from the family home in the Czech Republic.
"She will appear on catwalks in France, Britain or the USA for charity purposes only."
Nemcova once lived in a Manhattan apartment between glamorous, globetrotting photo shoots for the Victoria's Secret catalogue and the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue.
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Now she is hobbling on crutches and working out painfully in a rehabilitation centre near her family's home in a small Czech town.
"It looks very hopeful," her father said. "Her doctor said she would fully recover without any permanent consequences. Within a month she will walk without crutches."
Nemcova and her boyfriend, Simon Atlee, 33, were holidaying at a Thai beach resort when the Boxing Day tsunami struck.
Atlee was swept away and is presumed dead.
Her pelvis shattered, Nemcova clung to the top of a palm tree, listening to the screams of dying children until she was rescued.
She recuperated in a Prague hospital for 10 days, trying to overcome her physical injuries and her emotional trauma.
"I was born anew in the hospital," she said.
"Once again I was a baby who was learning to sit, stand, walk, eat - simply to exist. A completely new life started for me. Everything started from the beginning."
Members of Atlee's family visited her in the hospital two weeks ago, and she is slowly accepting that he is gone forever.
"You have to try with all your strength to think about the good things," Nemcova said. "You cannot change the laws of nature."
When she is able, she plans to return to Thailand with her father and her younger sister Olga to work on relief projects there, perhaps in conjunction with UNICEF.
"I want to return to Asia as soon as I recover a bit, and want to help all the people by doing manual work," she said.
"It is important for me to provide active help, to work with my hands. This will definitely give me the strength I need."
www.smh.com.au/news/World/My-lifes-been-transformed-model-who-survived-tsunami/2005/02/17/1108609349549.html
Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova says the tsunami that crumpled her body and killed her boyfriend had transformed her life - and she might turn her back on modelling forever.
"I'm different now, with a completely different view of the world," Nemcova, 25, told a Czech newspaper this week in her first interview since leaving the hospital last month.
After surviving the tsunami by clinging to a tree for eight hours, she said she no longer cared about her old life of fashion and fame.
"Believe me, it really isn't important," she said.
"There are so many important things in the world like health, love and peace in your soul."
Her father, bricklayer Oldrich Nemec, doubts she will ever resume her old life, unless it helps raise money for tsunami victims.
"I think she will now part with modelling," he told the New York Daily News from the family home in the Czech Republic.
"She will appear on catwalks in France, Britain or the USA for charity purposes only."
Nemcova once lived in a Manhattan apartment between glamorous, globetrotting photo shoots for the Victoria's Secret catalogue and the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue.
AdvertisementAdvertisement
Now she is hobbling on crutches and working out painfully in a rehabilitation centre near her family's home in a small Czech town.
"It looks very hopeful," her father said. "Her doctor said she would fully recover without any permanent consequences. Within a month she will walk without crutches."
Nemcova and her boyfriend, Simon Atlee, 33, were holidaying at a Thai beach resort when the Boxing Day tsunami struck.
Atlee was swept away and is presumed dead.
Her pelvis shattered, Nemcova clung to the top of a palm tree, listening to the screams of dying children until she was rescued.
She recuperated in a Prague hospital for 10 days, trying to overcome her physical injuries and her emotional trauma.
"I was born anew in the hospital," she said.
"Once again I was a baby who was learning to sit, stand, walk, eat - simply to exist. A completely new life started for me. Everything started from the beginning."
Members of Atlee's family visited her in the hospital two weeks ago, and she is slowly accepting that he is gone forever.
"You have to try with all your strength to think about the good things," Nemcova said. "You cannot change the laws of nature."
When she is able, she plans to return to Thailand with her father and her younger sister Olga to work on relief projects there, perhaps in conjunction with UNICEF.
"I want to return to Asia as soon as I recover a bit, and want to help all the people by doing manual work," she said.
"It is important for me to provide active help, to work with my hands. This will definitely give me the strength I need."
