The mother of a 17-year-old boy who survived six days alone in remote Victorian bushland has spoken publicly about how her son kept himself going through one of the most testing ordeals imaginable, and has warned his recovery is not yet straightforward despite the miraculous circumstances of his rescue.

William, whose surname has not been released, was found alive on Thursday morning after a police helicopter spotted him huddled beside a dry creek bed near Walhalla East, roughly 180 kilometres east of Melbourne. He had disappeared on 6 November while camping with a friend in what was described as his first unsupervised camping adventure, triggering a major multi-day search through some of Victoria's most rugged and impenetrable terrain.

Singing John Denver to get through the nights

His mother, Elizabeth Barkley, said William had been genuinely frightened that no one would find him. To keep his spirits up through the long, isolated nights, the teenager turned to music: specifically, John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads, which he sang aloud to himself in the darkness.

"He was worried that no one would find him," Elizabeth said, describing the mental toll the ordeal had taken on her son.

William, who has autism and loves football and video games, managed to survive almost entirely on a single packet of chicken chips and water from a nearby creek. Experts who have reviewed his behaviour during the ordeal say his level-headed decisions almost certainly saved his life.

Simin Ngan, co-convener of Bush Search and Rescue Victoria, said William had done "absolutely what was appropriate and the best thing to do" given his limited experience in the bush. She highlighted that he stayed warm using blankets, kept hydrated, rationed his food supply and, critically, remained in one spot where rescuers could see him from the air.

"He also was aware of his limitations, and didn't push himself to keep going through terrain that he was not used to when he wasn't sure how to navigate," Ms Ngan said. "I think that was a key factor in his own survival."

Senior survival instructor Gordon Dedman agreed, noting that the area around Walhalla East is "very, very thick bushland" where temperatures can drop sharply overnight. He emphasised that the worst thing a person in that situation can do is keep moving, as it makes locating them far more difficult for search teams.

A McDonald's reunion and a very specific order

When William was finally winched to safety and reunited with Elizabeth, he had one immediate and very clear request: he wanted McDonald's.

Elizabeth duly obliged, returning with a Quarter Pounder with bacon, a cheeseburger and six chicken McNuggets. The moment of reunion, captured on camera released by Victoria Police, showed Elizabeth overcome with emotion as she watched her son being brought back by rescuers.

"Just over the moon, and as soon as he started waving to me in the helicopter and I saw the shape of him, I just lost it, because it's like, you know, my prayers were answered," she said, describing his rescue as a "miracle".

She also added, with a touch of humour, that William is now grounded "for life".

William's condition: stable but requiring close monitoring

Despite his remarkable resilience, William's recovery is not without complications. Elizabeth revealed he was transferred to intensive care after his blood pressure dropped due to dehydration. Doctors are also monitoring a separate condition affecting his windpipe.

"They just have to make sure, because the condition is stable and it's not serious as yet, but it's one of those things that could turn serious quite quickly if not looked after and treated properly," Elizabeth said.

William was found with severe sunburn and cuts to his legs consistent with a fall down a cliff face during his time in the bush. Despite being in intensive care, his mother said he remained in good spirits, though he was not especially pleased to learn his McDonald's access had been temporarily revoked by medical staff monitoring his intake.

"He's in good spirits, a bit grumpy because he can't have his morning coffee," Elizabeth said.

In a sign that his personality was very much intact, William had already swapped John Denver for a different musical companion by Friday morning: he was reported to be singing AC/DC songs from his hospital bed.

What happens next for William

William is expected to remain in hospital in the short term before being transferred to Melbourne for further assessment by specialists. His case has drawn widespread praise from search and rescue professionals, who say the teenager's calm, instinctive decision-making in extraordinarily difficult circumstances made a successful outcome significantly more likely.

The search itself involved emergency services navigating hundreds of kilometres of dense bush over nearly a week, with aerial resources ultimately proving decisive. Temperatures in the area swung between scorching daytime heat and bitterly cold overnight conditions during the period William was missing, making the physical challenge of survival all the more serious.

For Elizabeth, the ordeal is not quite over while her son remains under medical supervision. But after six agonising days, the relief of hearing him sing again, even if it is now AC/DC rather than John Denver, is something she described as nothing short of a miracle.