A man who almost lost his hand during a violent attack outside a Melbourne shopping centre says his life will never be the same again.

Saurabh Anand has been discharged from hospital but may never be able to use his hand properly again.

“My hand and my arm was literally hanging by a thread,” he said.

He was attacked by a gang armed with a machete and thought he would die.

“There was a lot of blood around me. My clothes were completely drenched of blood,” he said.

The 33-year-old had just left an Altona Meadows pharmacy when he was approached by the group of teenage boys.

He says they attacked him when he refused to hand over valuables.

“So he pulled out a machete, he went for my throat and out of instinct the left arm came in front of my face to save myself,” Anand said.

Anand says they hacked at his arm multiple times before snatching his mobile phone.

“And to be honest, this hand was completely limping so I tried to support it with my other hand, hoping that it doesn’t fall out because I knew the moment my hand drops off there is no hope for it to be restored,” Anand said.

The customer service agent was left bleeding and in pain on the footpath until someone came to his aid.

He’s spent the last week at hospital in and out of surgery.

“There’s no information on how much this would work, if my hand is gonna ever work or if there would be any functionality,” he said.

Four teenagers have been charged over the daylight attack including a 14-year-old who is alleged to have been involved in a similar knife incident in June.

A fifth boy is expected to be charged on summons.

“You may see me physically present in my home or at the hospital. Mentally I’m still there being attacked every night.”

A fundraiser has been started to support Anand who is already calling on the state government to do more.

“I don’t want to be someone who is just being attacked and forgotten,” he said.