The deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil left Ahmed Al Ahmed with a permanent disability, sleepless nights and a fractured family.
He was unaware his split-second decision on December 14, 2025, to tackle one of the gunmen at Bondi Beach would turn his life upside down.
Looking back at what happened to him over the last year, Mr Al Ahmed found himself struggling to process it all.
"Too many things around especially with my health, it was very hard to recover and still today the healing is very slow … I have nerve damage where it's caused for me all this pain; there's big damage.
Despite multiple surgeries, Mr Al Ahmed's arm was left with permanent nerve damage and limited mobility, causing him chronic pain.
Doctors were able to remove three bullets from his arm, but two remain lodged in his shoulder.
But more than metal, there is a mental trauma he carries with him every day.
Walking back to the scene where it all unfolded, Mr Al Ahmed could not bring himself to climb the footbridge.
Mr Al Ahmed, a former business owner from southern Sydney, had been visiting Bondi Beach for a walk with his cousin on the day of the attack.
When the shooting started, they took cover between parked cars near the now infamous northern pedestrian…