‘I felt nothing’: Bondi hero gives heartbreaking health update as he prepares to return to work despite his new multi-millionaire status

Ahmed Al Ahmed, who heroically confronted one of the alleged gunmen on Bondi Beach, has revealed he will never regain feeling in one of his hands.

The 43-year-old man was shot multiple times shortly after disarming gunman Sajid Akram during an attack on Hanukkah celebrations in Bondi on December 14.

Doctors removed a bullet from his shoulder and repaired nerve damage, but he had previously said he could suffer permanent injury and require further surgery.

However, on Tuesday, the tobacco and souvenir shop owner announced that in the latest tests, his left hand was numb and he could not move.

“I took a nerve test on my hand today and it confirmed what I feared,” the father of two wrote on social media.

‘Doctors gave electric shocks over and over again. Even at 100mA I didn’t feel anything. It was painful at the time, but it didn’t break me.’

Mr Al Ahmed said doctors increasingly applied stronger electric shocks to his hand.

‘I remember the days when I saved lives and made a difference. If I had this power once, I will find it again. “This phase is difficult but temporary,” he said.

The 43-year-old man was shot multiple times shortly after disarming gunman Sajid Akram during an attack on Hanukkah celebrations on December 14 (pictured)

While a bullet was successfully removed from his shoulder, Mr Al Ahmed (pictured) had previously said he could suffer permanent injury and require further surgery.

‘Healing takes time and I’m ready to fight for it. I ask everyone who reads this to keep me in your prayers. I believe I will recover. I believe I will rise again. ‘I won’t give up.’

Mr Al Ahmed’s recovery was slow after he experienced sudden swelling and severe pain in his hand while visiting the United States in January.

In the images shared by the hero on Instagram, we see him lying in a hotel room, his left hand leaning on four pillows to elevate himself.

“I was scheduled to attend several meetings but had to cancel them all due to sudden swelling and severe pain in my hand,” he wrote at the time.

He said he felt ‘disheartened’ when the painkillers wore off, but he remembered protecting innocent people and felt hopeful once again.

Despite his injuries and becoming an overnight multimillionaire thanks to a viral GoFundMe campaign, Mr Al Ahmed is preparing to return to his tobacco shop.

The store in Sutherland, in Sydney’s south, has remained closed since the mass shooting, prompting rumors that the Bondi hero will sell the business.

But the Daily Mail revealed on Wednesday that the store owner had changed his mind and plans to reopen the small business as early as this week.

Mr Al-Ahmed became a multi-millionaire thanks to a GoFundMe that went viral while he was in hospital (pictured with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese)

But he is expected to return to work at his tobacco and gift shop (pictured) in south Sydney.

Local people in Sutherland were quick to react to the news.

“It’ll be great to have it back,” one customer told the Daily Mail. ‘He’s a great guy and a hero now and we miss having him around.’

Mr Al Ahmed had been running the store selling gifts and toys since 2021, with his proud parents describing it as a ‘supermarket’ during an interview.

Flowers and cards were left in front of the shop, which was closed in the days following the terrorist attack, to thank him for his courage.