Nadia Bloom Recalls Swamp Ordeal
Earlier this month, 11-year-old Nadia Bloom vanished from her home in Florida. But there was a happy ending: four days later, she was found in an alligator infested swamp by herself.
She was sent to the hospital, suffering from dehydration, swollen feet and many bug bites. But that's it. She's back home now and she and her family are very thankful for her supporters.
Nadia and her parents, Jeff and Tanya, appeared on "The Early Show" Monday to talk about the ordeal.
"It's so great, Nadia, to get to finally talk to you. How are you and how does it feel to be back home?" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez asked.
"I feel great," Nadia said. "I mean, I missed everybody. Everyone my baby sister who does nothing but cry."
Asked what the first thing she did when she got home, Nadia said, "Well, the first thing I did when I got home, well, play on the computer."
Asked if she scared being all alone in the swamp, Nadia said, "A little."
"The scariest thing I saw is when it became night and I was afraid they'd never find me. Like I didn't see anything scary, but I felt scared. I tried to tell myself that there were probably people out there who were looking for me because I kind of heard sloshing. I'm not sure where it was coming from. And then finally Mr. King found me. And that was like…that was the greatest thing that ever happened to me," she explained.
Asked about the moment when Mr. King found her, Nadia said, "Well, I was really excited because I was super dehydrated and I hadn't had anything to eat for two days because on the first and second day, I ate these plants which were spongy and they had water in them. But Mr. King gave me some trail mix and some water. And I was glad that I was finally going to see my own family."
Tanya Bloom told Rodriguez those four days with her daughter missing were the hardest she's ever experienced. "We had a lot of support from our community and a lot of support from our church. And it helped us get it through, but they were the hardest days I've ever went through," she said.
"Jeff, were you surprised that Nadia was as resourceful and as fearless as she was?" Rodriguez asked Nadia's dad Jeff Bloom.
"In some ways, yes. She's always been an amazing kid, but I had no idea that she would use her resources in this way to brave that sort of, you know, terrain and time and just lack of food, you know. So, yeah, I was surprised that she was able to use her resources in that way," Bloom replied.
What would Nadia do in the future when exploring nature?
"I'll ask mom first and I think I might go with a grown-up next time," Nadia vowed.