On 23 September 2024, I left Woolworths and started walking home.

I never made it home the same.

Less than 500 metres from my house, I was randomly attacked by a complete stranger and stabbed multiple times.

One stab wound severed a femoral artery, causing catastrophic blood loss. Another punctured my left lung.

Despite those injuries, I somehow managed to make it to a nearby house and knock on the door for help.

Thankfully, the family who answered the door that night stepped in to help. One member of the household had extensive first aid training, and their actions helped save my life.

Without them, I wouldn’t be here today.

While I was fighting for my life, my partner Mel was searching for me. She drove home expecting me to be there. When I wasn’t, she went back out looking.

Instead, she found a police crime scene taped off just a few hundred metres from our house.

She had no idea the victim was me.

When I arrived at hospital, doctors did not think I would survive. I had already lost a massive amount of blood and my condition continued to deteriorate. I was described as grey, and Mel was told to stay away from the hospital while medical staff did everything they could to save me. Police were unable to contact the hospital for updates because all attention was focused on keeping me alive.

A few hours later, I went into traumatic cardiac arrest. For around 20 minutes, a doctor manually massaged my heart to keep me alive.

I spent more than a month in intensive care, including three weeks in an induced coma. My kidneys failed completely, I required dialysis, and I received more than 50 bags of blood products just to stay alive.

A forensic medical officer later described my injuries as “medically catastrophic” and stated that I would certainly have died without immediate intervention.

Every major organ in my body except my brain was affected.

My life was saved more than once that night.

First by the family who answered the door.

Then by the paramedics, doctors, nurses and hospital staff who refused to give up on me.

Against all odds, I survived.

But survival came at a cost.

Nearly two years later, I am still living with the consequences of that attack every day.

I now struggle with ongoing heart complications, Crohn’s disease, CPTSD, anxiety, and significant physical limitations. I am unable to work, and many of the things I once took for granted are no longer possible.

Before the attack, Mel and I were building a future together. Just five months earlier, we had secured the mortgage on our home and were finally getting ahead financially. We were comfortable, working hard, and even making extra mortgage repayments.

Today, both of us rely on Centrelink.

The attack didn’t just happen to me. It changed every part of our lives.

Mel has become my full-time carer, managing appointments, paperwork, my care, the household, and everything else that comes with trying to hold life together after something like this. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day or enough hands to keep up with everything on her own.

The strain has affected both of us emotionally, physically, and financially.

Our home is also Mel’s childhood family home. Her mum, Janet, passed away in October 2021, and her dad, Larry, passed away in September 2022. Their ashes are scattered throughout the garden.

This house is filled with memories. It’s where Mel grew up, and it’s where she still feels closest to her parents.

When we took on the mortgage five months before the attack, it wasn’t just about buying a house. It was about keeping her family home in the family.

We are doing everything we can to hold onto it.

Right now, we need help.

Any donation will help us maintain our home, ease some of the financial pressure, and provide stability while I continue rebuilding my life.

If you’re unable to donate, simply sharing our story can make a huge difference.

Something as simple as a “hello” or a message of encouragement genuinely means more than words can express on the hardest days.

We will also continue posting updates here about my recovery, the challenges we face, and the progress we make, so everyone who has supported us can follow our journey.

The attack lasted seconds. The consequences have lasted years.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Chris Child