Model Petra Nemcova Recovering After Tsunami

May 17, 2005 — -- Sports Illustrated cover girl Petra Nemcova, 25, continues to amaze doctors with her quick recovery from injuries she sustained in December's deadly tsunami. And now Nemcova is returning to Thailand, where the deadly wave claimed the life of her boyfriend, Simon Atlee.

After months of rehabilitation, the supermodel had a spring in her step as she walked into the "Good Morning America" studio to catch up with Diane Sawyer.

Nemcova says she's looking forward to returning to Thailand and will even go look for the palm tree she clung to for close to eight hours.

"I want to go and say thank you to the doctors there and the nurses and see a couple of schools and see what's needed," Nemcova said. "And then plant a new palm tree for new life for Sidi [her nickname for Atlee], and I will try to go and find the tree I was holding to."

Nemcova and Atlee were vacationing in Thailand when the huge wave crashed ashore. Atlee's body was found months later, buried in mud just over a mile from the couple's bungalow.

Though his loss was devastating, Nemcova said she has learned to live her life more in the moment.

"I try to live fully, as he [Atlee] always did. He always loved life and lived it everymoment," she said. "I used to work all the time, all the time, and now if there is a wedding, there's a concert, I'm there. It's like, I'm gonna find the time to really be there. So it's different … it's really been wonderful."

Model Petra Nemcova says she still talks to boyfriend Simon Atlee -- months after the Indian Ocean tsunami nearly killed her and swept away the British photographer.

"I talk to Simon, I write to him," Nemcova told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in a special episode of "Primetime Live."

"I never used to write a diary. But now I'm writing a diary to him," she said. "I think it's not just me, but lots of others, family and friends, can still feel him around."

Nemcova, 25, and Atlee, 33, were in the Thai resort of Khao Lak on Dec. 26 when one of the deadliest tsunamis in modern history hit. Areas of Asia and Africa were flooded, and more than 200,000 people are believed to have died in the disaster.

Nemcova suffered a shattered pelvis and internal injuries. Atlee was missing and presumed dead for more than three months, until his body was found and formally identified on March 3.

The Czech beauty told Sawyer she thinks of Atlee daily. "His favorite saying was, 'The day without laughter is a day wasted,' " she said. "He was so kind and so respectful for people. He loved people. He loved life."

Nemcova said she still has nightmares about the experience: "Just water rolling and rolling, and when you close your eyes, just water."

She recounted for Sawyer the series of events that began with her boyfriend at her side, and ended with her clinging to a palm tree for dear life for nearly eight hours.

She and Atlee were in their bungalow when the first wave hit. People were running away and screaming, she said. "It was just so … surrealistic." Then the water flooded their bungalow and pulled them outside in seconds. "Simon was just saying, 'Petra, Petra, what's going on?' " she said.

Nemcova was swept into a current of debris. "In that moment, the power of the water was bringing all the fallen trees, all the broken buildings and all the wood. It was such a strong current, you couldn't do anything. You just had to go with it," she said.