She believes a move to a ground floor dwelling, possibly one with a small backyard, would help her son re-engage with society, attend his rehabilitation sessions and improve his state of mind. “A place where he can get in and out without any trouble. Maybe a little yard where he can sit with his friends,” Ms Dada said. Police investigate the collision that cost David his leg. Credit:AAP David, who has become so withdrawn that he barely speaks, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that fresh air and sunshine were two things that helped him feel better. Last September, he lost his right leg above his knee after he was pinned against a car in a hit-run accident outside Collingwood’s Gasometer hotel when a brawl at the launch of a record label got out of control.

Last month 19-year-old Dieu Atem, who was "as drunk as f---" when he took the keys of a friend's Nissan Pulsar, was jailed for five years for the crash which cost David his leg. The violent fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Laa Chol two months earlier may have kicked off the brawl. David never leaves his home. Credit:Chris Hopkins David was also at the the EQ Tower in Melbourne's CBD when Ms Chol was killed in July after a party at the apartment building was gatecrashed. The trial of a 17-year-old boy, who has been charged with Ms Chol's murder but cannot be named for legal reasons, began on Monday. Losing his leg drastically changed David's self-identity. He was no longer the person he thought he was. He never will be.

Since the incident, he has stopped his studies and can no longer see himself becoming a car mechanic. David’s prosthetic leg needs regular adjustment. Sometimes he uses socks as padding to provide extra support. Laa Chol. While their tower block has two lifts, Ms Dada said they were often full of parents with prams and shopping carts, or are just too slow for an impatient teen who once thought nothing of bounding up three flights of stairs. Sometimes the lifts are under repair. David is not confident enough to tackle the stairs on his mechanical leg. "I feel like I'm going to fall over forward," he said in perhaps his longest sentence of the morning The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald spent with him

He has, on occasion, resorted to going down the stairs on his backside. Inside their unit, David now has to step into a bath and sit on his bottom to have a shower. His prosthetic leg rests in a bucket. What Ms Dada fears most is a fire like the Grenfell Tower disaster in London in 2017 which killed 72 people. "I worry he couldn’t get out of here fast enough,” she said. A report by an occupational therapist recommends a change to a ground floor unit be considered for David.

“In the case of a fire or alternate emergency David is expected to use the stairs. He is not proficient, safe or experienced enough to use his prosthesis on stairs,” the report concluded. “David’s injuries have significantly compromised several personal and recreational pursuits. At a personal level David is having to re-learn innate tasks such as sitting, standing and walking as well as having to adapt or compensate with simple personal care activities such as showering and toileting. “David is a young man and the timing of the accident has severe repercussions on his entire life and identity. The accident is likely to impact his working roles, social experiences, community engagement and overall participation in life.” Jeremy King, personal injury lawyer with law firm Robinson Gill, filed a priority housing application on behalf of Ms Dada earlier this year. Ms Dada, who came to Australia from Sudan in the early 2000s, is awaiting an outcome, all the while watching her son deteriorate. “David and his family have been through a horrific traumatic event, that will sadly impact them for a long time coming. David has suffered a debilitating and lifelong amputation injury. A compassionate response to this would be for the government to ensure that at the very least David and his family have housing that is disability friendly and properly meets his needs,” Mr King said.

Loading Victoria’s Housing Minister, Richard Wynne, said David's situation was "very difficult" and that his department was working to find a new home as a matter of urgency. "There is high demand for public housing and it can take some time for an appropriate home to become available, particularly where there are special housing needs," Mr Wynne said. With her tower being the scene of two recent suicides, Ms Dada just wants to get out of there. "We need something to happen," she said.