Day after day, as weeks became months, there were times when Jonathan Crowley thought he may never wake from his nightmare.
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There were moments, he admits, when he wondered whether he might die in the Sydney rehabilitation centre where he has spent most of the past year.
After a long, tiring battle to come home, Mr Crowley's hope has returned.
Mr Crowley was on Wednesday celebrating his first day back at his Chapman home, surrounded by his parents and siblings.
"It's fantastic to be home. I can't believe I'm actually here," he said.
"It means having a proper place to live in, being close to my family. I'm still in a bit of a state of shock."
Although a pressure sore sees Mr Crowley, who suffers chronic pain, confined to bed every other day, he now hopes he can focus on the future and having a life.
Mr Crowley was finally able to return home after QuestCare offered to provide care for him in Canberra.
Opening up about his battle over the past few months, Mr Crowley said every day had been a struggle to survive.
"I was so far away from family and friends, living in a tiny little room," he said.
His sister Catherine McHugh said it was wonderful her brother was able to return home.
"For people like John, he doesn't have a lot of living options so to be here in his own home with carers coming in is a wonderful thing," she said.
Mr Crowley was made a quad?riplegic after he was shot by police 12 years ago, leaving him with ongoing health issues and needing round-the-clock care.
He spent almost a decade fighting for compensation. He was initially awarded $8 million damages in May 2011 after an ACT Supreme Court judge found duty of care had been breached by both Mental Health and the AFP.
But the ACT Court of Appeal struck out that decision in December 2012 and six months later? the High Court refused him special leave to appeal the decision to strip him of the payout.
"There is no justice in this at all," Mr Crowley said yesterday.
Mr Crowley's care is paid for through Disability ACT, but his family says the package is not enough and he needs more care than he currently receives.
"It doesn't cover social access, social activities, learning how to drive again," Mr Crowley said.
His father Keith Crowley said the funding covered only his basic care.
"We're really grateful – because a lot of people don't get as much as Johnny gets for his high care needs but it's still inadequate," Ms McHugh said.
"If John's funding is inadequate to maintain him in his own home – and there is a risk of that ? because there's a very fine balance – my priority for John going forward would be to have options such as shared group homes and everyone tells us they're almost impossible to access and then the only other option is a nursing home.
"Going forward we would love to see more shared community housing where people can have access to carers 24 hours and share his funding with other people to make it more economical and more secure."
Mr Crowley said he was incredibly grateful for the support from his family and the Canberra community.
When asked about the future, he is optimistic. "I want to pursue my interest in politics, one of my ambitions was to one day become a minister. I want to pursue some avenues of employment, put some of my skills to work and I would like to publish some of my poetry and my graphic artwork," he said.
