Garry Robinson had spent two-and-a-half years recovering in military hospital when medics decided to put his application in for the first Invictus Games.
The former special forces commander was severely injured in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2010 that claimed the lives of four others, including his mate PTE Ben Chuck.
Now for the first time, as Garry competes in his fourth Invictus Games in Sydney in October, those same hospital staff will finally have the chance to see him compete for his country.
The crash left Garry with horrific injuries, including a severe traumatic brain injury, internal bleeding, a punctured lung and a fractured left leg, which had to be amputated.
But it also left him in a bad place emotionally.
"I was going through some very dark patches," he told AAP on Friday after being named as part of Australia's Invictus Games side.
"I had no idea what I was going to do when I got out of hospital ... and the Invictus Games came up and before I knew it, two weeks later I was on a plane to London.
"I haven't looked back since ... Prince Harry and the Invictus Foundation have saved my life."
Among the 72-strong team announced on Friday to compete in the 2018 Sydney Invictus Games in October, Garry's story is just one of many inspiring tales of overcoming impossible odds.
Pilot Officer Nathan Parker had dreamed of serving his country for almost his entire life, but he never expected to have it cost him dearly while he was still on home soil.
At just 21, Nathan was injured at ADFA, when the bus he was on after a training exercise rolled.
"My left hand became trapped between the bus and the road, so that resulted in the amputation of my hand as well as some other injuries and some facial lacerations as well," he told AAP.
The now 23-year-old is set to compete in athletics and indoor rowing at the upcoming Games, which he says help servicemen and women overcome their darkest times and toughest injuries.
"The rehabilitation journey is toughest when you're walking it alone, and family and friends are incredible supports but to be in an environment where other people have been through similar experiences, they just get it," he said.
Giving that military camaraderie back to wounded soldiers at what is often their lowest point is part of what makes Invictus so important, according to former soldier Davin Bretherton.
Davin says those bonds had eluded him since he left the Army in 2001.
The 47-year-old former soldier lost his leg following complications from a training accident while on deployment in Somalia, a posting also leaving him with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Now set to compete in wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and sailing at the Sydney Games, he says it was sport that finally brought him back into line with his military mates.
"I sort of found peace with it all through sports," he told AAP.
"It keeps you going, it keeps you motivated.
"I am alive because I have been able to play sport."
The Sydney Invictus Games will begin on October 20 and will run for a week.
Australia's team of unconquered warriors will go up against 500 competitors from 18 nations in 11 different sports.
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