One night in 2011 when I was 24 and in a bit of a desperate place in my life, I was mucking around with some mates and some homemade explosives.

It’s a pretty crazy story. I ended up losing both legs above the knee and most of my fingers.

As an amputee who’s gone through that traumatic experience and the challenges that went along with it, the Lifeline program really spoke to me.

What led me to that place that year was really feeling a lack of purpose in life, and that’s specifically how I feel I can contribute now: to those feeling lost.

After it all happened I was in an induced coma for a month. When I woke up I had the support of friends and family who were visiting me in hospital, and it was probably that sense of feeling connected that got me through.

It might not be messing with explosives, but people do all kinds of crazy stuff - younger people especially, drink driving and making decisions that end up affecting them for the rest of their life.

My message is that you don’t have to go through traumatic events to know that there are people that care, and being part of this program is a way for me to feel connected, still.