The interview was a first for Roy and he spoke of his long road to recovery, his plans for the future, the accident that took place on stage at the Mirage in Las Vegas and about his beloved Montecore.
It was a touching interview and it left me realizing you can overcome all odds if you believe that you can and you have a support system to help you along the way.
For a long time, it was just a matter of survival for Roy after he sustained so much damage to his body along with the loss of blood and the stroke he suffered after Montecore grabbed him by the neck and carried him offstage.
Maria asked Roy if he remembered what he was thinking as he was being carried and he said he did and knew he didn't want to die.
She asked about Montecore and if he had seen him and he replied "of course". He has not only seen him, he's touched him. He said he was not afraid of the 8-year old white tiger that he raised from a cub. He doesn't blame Montecore, either.
What he said was that while on stage, he knew the tiger was not his usual self and he had had to tap the cat on the nose to get his attention. Montecore took Roy's arm in his mouth but upon command by Roy, he dropped it. Roy explained that he has high blood pressure and he began to fall. When he did, Montecore picked him up to take him to safety. Not to hurt him, but to protect him. Siegfried said in the interview, if Montecore had wanted to kill Roy, he would have done it in a few seconds.
When Montecare picked Roy up to carry him offstage, his great teeth caused severe lacerations to Roy's neck, not from biting but from carrying him.
His recovery over the past year has been a hard road and tiring but he continues to have therapy so he can regain the complete use of his body.
The two have been at the Mirage for over 40 years and he says he misses doing the show. Siegfried said they had just recently been talking about retiring, before the accident, but hadn't made a final decision. This team has been wowing fans for many years and I just can't see them walking away.
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