Outside of his immediate family, Jack Robinson told no-one the extent of his mental health crisis.
In the midst of the Covid pandemic, the then 16-year-old was in the grip of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
"I sobbed and I rang my husband and I said to him 'I don't know how we're ever going to get back from this, I don't know how Jack is going to get better'" his mother Kathryn told Seven Sharp.
Jack's weight had plummeted, he was barely eating or drinking, and his vital organs were at risk of failure.
He said that he would wash his hands all the time, to the point where they became "all cracked and they started bleeding all the time."
The obsession to avoid contamination grew, sitting in the same seat in the car, bags in the boot on the left only, not wanting to swallow, and even refusing to enter the family home.
Eventually, Jack found treatment at the Child, Adolescent and Family Unit on the site of the long abandoned Princess Margaret Hospital in Christchurch.
Service manager Deborah Selwood said that its not the kind of facility where if you're feeling worthless, you're going to come and feel "oh yeah this is going to help me".
While Jack and Kathryn can't fault the staff, or the outcome of his treatment, he wanted to give back and is leading a fundraising campaign for a purpose-built youth mental health outpatient unit.
"Once I was better, I realised if I can help others in my position, why shouldn't I?"
Watch Jack's inspiring story from Seven Sharp above.
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