Mother surprises son with helicopter matric prom entrance after overcoming adversity

AFTER a life-changing spinal injury in 2023, Demais Pillay’s mother orchestrated a breathtaking helicopter entrance for his prom, celebrating his resilience and recovery.

Demais, 18, a Carter High School matric pupil, from Pietermaritzburg, suffered an accident at his school’s fun day in Grade 11. His mother Lorenda Vincent, a businesswoman, said her son was meant to complete matric last year, but the injury set him back a year.

“He was 16 years old at the time. He participated in a game at the fun day where he was dunked into a tank of water. Unfortunately, he fell into the tank in an awkward way and hurt his spine. Demais could not walk for many months. He was in a bad way emotionally as he felt his life had come to a standstill. My son has been through a lot since the accident. He struggled, but through his strong mind and with rehabilitation, he recovered. We opted out of surgery but he was still healed,” said Vincent.

She said Demais was at home for three months and had to prove to his school that he could not attend nor write his exams. However, he persevered and finished Grade 11 last year, she said.

Vincent said with the love and support from his family, Demais started walking again, seven months after his accident.

“The reason we gave him a grand entrance at his prom was because he deserved it. He deserved to celebrate his determination and resilience. During his recovery period, he weighed only 20kg. As a mother it was heartbreaking to see my son in such a devastating situation,” said Vincent.

She said Demais had a tough few years in his life.

“My son only started speaking when he was 4 years old due to a speech delay. Later on in school because he was reserved and quiet, he was bullied. Yet, he is such a loving and kind child. His school days were not the easiest. I wanted him to have some fond memories of his last year at school and I thought this send-off was fitting. It came from a place of love because there was a time when I thought my child would never walk again,” said Vincent.

She said initially her son did not want to attend his prom.

“He lost his grandparents in the last two years. He was especially close to his grandmother who gave him ideas for his prom entrance before she died. Because of this, he did not want to go to prom. He said he was not looking forward to it. He was unaware of what I had in mind for him. The helicopter idea was my own. When he finally agreed to attend prom, he said he wanted to arrive in a Mustang. I thought my idea was better. In all honesty, I thought he would still be in a wheelchair. Doing all this for him and seeing him walk again, was a dream come true.”

The plan was put in motion by Vincent and her daughter, who did not want to be named. They kept everything under wraps until three days before the grand reveal.

“My eldest daughter and I planned the whole entrance in three weeks. He was only told about it three days before when I took him to the airport to show him the helicopter. He was confused at first until he realised what our plan entailed. My daughter was equally as excited. She bought him a Rolex watch and a Versace shirt which he was thrilled about.”

Vincent said Demais had two entrances – when he jumped off the helicopter and then rode on a horse all the way to the venue.

“Our whole family was supposed to walk with him to the venue as a symbol of his miraculous recovery. We wanted to escort him and show our pride of how far he had come. But then we saw a horse which someone else had used. I enquired on the spot about hiring it. That is how our plan changed. But we still walked behind the horse as he rode on it,” said Vincent.

She said as a mother, she was happy for her son but there had been many ill-wishes online.

“The haters were many, but I was not bothered. After all, they were only strangers who did not know my son’s story. They did not understand what we went through to get to that point. We were not showing off. Our family have been through a lot, including the death of my parents whom my children were extremely close to. So when I did this grand entrance, I was also doing it on behalf of my parents who could not be there with us.”

She said many people, after watching the video of her son’s prom, had wanted to see his medical records.

“I don’t understand why everyone was so nasty and rude about our choices. It is what we wanted. But the negativity did not bother me because it was not about the material things, but rather about celebrating my son. We just wanted to celebrate my son for where he is now and how he fought so hard to finally walk again. My son is flying high, which is why I put him in a helicopter,” said Vincent.

She said the family were not put in debt, even though it cost them more than R300 000.

“We gave him the Rolex because my son loves watches. From a young child, it always fascinated him. It was a perfect gift for him. Everyone asked why we didn’t give it to him later. And to that I answered, ‘why?’

“Life is too short. I don’t know if I’ll be here later to give it to him, so I would rather do it all now.“Life is about making your loved ones happy and that is what we have done for my son. I’m glad we were able to make his day special,” said Vincent.

When the POST spoke to Demais, he said his friends were still amazed by his once-in-a-lifetime entrance.

“It felt amazing. I really was in shock when my mother told me about the plan she had for my prom. She outdid herself. I enjoyed my prom, especially since my mother and sister gave me the courage to carry on during my darkest times. They helped and supported me. I owe them everything,” said Demais.

He said he already knew what he wanted to study next year, but would wait for his official acceptance before making it public.

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