Liya Barko, one of the survivors of the deadly attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney on April 13, has spoken about her recovery since the fateful day and recalled the moment she woke up and realised she was alive. 

The 35-year-old, who was critically injured in the attack that left six people dead, was only released from hospital a week ago and credits her treating doctor with playing a pivotal role in her recovery.

"I remember such a big, big smile and such a happy face," she told 9News of the doctor. "He was so happy, I've never seen anyone so genuinely happy," she added.

Liya spent 10 days in intensive care in a critical condition and says it was the smiling doctor who encouraged her to pull through. "I thought, 'If I die now, I'm going to ruin his shift. So I can't die now because he's so happy'," she said. 

The woman had been attending her first ever volleyball lesson on the morning of April 13 and went to the shopping centre to buy a ball so she could practice. It was there she crossed paths with the attacker.

"He looked at me and he decided at that moment, and then I looked at my hand and it was bleeding," she recalled.

"When we are on the floor, bleeding, we can see everyone's expression and some of them were crying, they were scared... for their lives as well," she said.

It was a first aid worker who helped stop the bleeding and who she credits with saving her life.

"My question is how did this happen, why was a schizophrenic man out with a knife on a normal Saturday afternoon, turning it into hell?" the woman asked, still coming to terms with what happened.

Liya Barko, grew up in Ukraine but later moved to Argentina. She had arrived in Sydney 18 months ago to study while working as a cleaner. 

The attacker, Joel Cauchi, killed six people -  Jade Young, Yixuan Cheng, Pikria Darchia, Faraz Tahir , Dawn Singleton and Ashlee Good - and injured 12 others before he was shot dead by police.  Cauchi, 40, had a history of mental illness, which police say has ruled out terrorism as a motive. Police believe he may have been targeting women.

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