A FATHER of six who suffered horrific injures after falling from a hotel balcony is preparing for Christmas with his family.
Karl Nethercot, 34, fell two floors from the balcony in Tunisia.
His fiancee Emma Huszarik found him in a pool of blood and was convinced he would die.
But now the family are together again at home in Netherfield and ready for the Christmas they thought they would never see.
Karl, who worked as a sign fitter, said: "It's going to be a good Christmas. The children are looking forward to it and it's great to see how excited they are.
"I just want to get back to being normal and being a family man.
"It's things like going to the park and going for walks with my children that I can't do right now but I'm keen to do them again.
"I want to go back on holiday with my family too, so I can do all the things I missed out on."
Karl was on holiday with Emma and nine-month-old Keira and 22-month-old Ethan in October when the accident happened.
He suffered severe head and chest injuries.
Ms Huszarik, 32, was so sure he would die, she started planning a funeral.
"The first thing I saw was Karl in a pool of blood where he had fallen," she said.
"When the ambulance came, the paramedic just said the word severe a couple of times to me and I just thought the worst was going to happen. I was planning his funeral, little things like the songs we would play."
Ms Huszarik stayed in Tunisia with Karl – who also has four children, Aidan, Leyton, Sheldon and Kylan, with a former partner – but found seeing him lying in bed hard to deal with.
"I could only see him for two hours a day and even then it was behind a big piece of glass," she said.
"At first it was hard to understand what was going on, but then I got an interpreter and I found out he was slowly getting better.
"There were times during his recovery when he couldn't remember people's names and things like that which was a bit upsetting and frustrating for Karl, but at least we've got him back home."
