SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — For the first time publicly, 11-year-old Nadia Bloom talked about the days she spent lost in the woods in Winter Springs. Nadia and her parents appeared on Good Morning America Monday and she talked about what she did to try to save herself.
NADIA ON GMA: Raw Interview | See Images VIDEO REPORT: Nadia Talks About Ordeal NADIA EMERGES FROM WOODS: See Images | Raw Video
"I kinda don't want to be here. I'd rather be a school today," Nadia said Monday morning.
She spoke in detail about her ordeal for the first time as only an 11-year-old can.
"I wanted to see nature and take pictures. But I didn't know I was going to get lost. I tried to eat a fern, but it was so gross, I spit it out. I didn't throw up, but I did spit out the fern," she said.
Nadia didn't eat ferns, but did eat other plants to survive and most nights slept in a hollow log.
"I was a little scared at one part. At one part I could not find a log, so I used a bush. At one time I couldn't find any of those, so I had to use a tree stump," she said.
Bloom wandered into the woods near her home in Winter Springs earlier this month and got lost. She spent four days and nights lost in an alligator-infested swamp, but didn't see any; she did see a lot of lizards and insects and she often called for help and even saw the police helicopter that was searching for her overhead.
"I tried to follow this helicopter that I saw, but I kept on missing the helicopter,"
Volunteer searcher James King found her; he believes God led him straight to Nadia and so does she. It took two hours for police with machetes to cut a path and carry Nadia to safety; she was dehydrated and covered in bug bites, but otherwise fine.
"I felt excited. Because I thought I was never going to be found out there, but it turned out I was," she said.
Nadia was released from the hospital May 19 and said she hid her identity when she checked in.
"At first, I was really scared. But it felt good when I finally got to the hospital, even though I had to use a fake name," she said. "Yeah, M. Scott."
Nadia's mother said one of the first things Nadia asked her was, "Am I in trouble?" Her mother told her, ‘No.'
"For any family that has to go through this, God forbid, I was thinking she had three days. She had four. God surprised me," Nadia Bloom's mom, Tanya, said.
On Sunday, Nadia and her family thanked everyone at their church and the community who helped look for her, especially James King who found Nadia in the woods.
Previous Stories: April 19, 2010: Girl Who Spent Days In Swamp Goes Home April 15, 2010: Nadia Bloom's Mom: "God Had His Hand In This" April 14, 2010: Nadia Talks On 911 Call: "I'm The Girl Who Got Lost" April 14, 2010: Nadia To Rescuers: "Glad You Guys Found Me" April 13, 2010: Window Of Opportunity To Find Missing Girl Narrowing April 12, 2010: Doll May Have Inspired Missing Girl To Explore Woods April 11, 2010: Search Continues For Missing 11-Year-Old
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