After sharing the story of how he survived three brain surgeries, 15-year-old Jacob Cachia is glad to see that the number of people joining his Facebook group, Survivors Malta, is on the rise.

The closed group managed to attract more than 100 members so far and Jacob and his mother, Sarah, are very pleased, especially as they know it will take time for people to join and speak about a difficult time in their lives.

“The group is still in its early days but when the members begin to open up and find the courage to share their stories it will be both beneficial to themselves, to other members and to future members who will have a place they can turn to for inspiration in their time of need... a place we never had,” Ms Cachia said a week after her son’s story was published in The Sunday Times of Malta.

Jacob was studying for his O level examinations in January when he started suffering bad headaches.

He was taken to hospital, diagnosed with sinusitis and admitted to the ENT ward.

On the fifth day, Jacob had a seizure. An MRI revealed that the right side of his brain was full of pus. Bacteria had entered his brain through the sinuses.

He had an operation that included removing part of the skull to remove the pus. The surgeon told his parents there was a blood clot and substantial swelling, so the skull could not be put back.

He started recovering but, over the next few weeks had two episodes of bleeding in the brain and needed two more surgeries.

When Jacob regained some strength he was moved to the neurosurgical ward and spent a combined total of five months at Mater Dei Hospital and Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital.

We have told our story in the hope that it will help others who have suffered a family trauma

Jacob left on June 28 and is now having therapy to improve the movement of his limbs. When his swelling goes down completely he will have a titanium plate fitted in place of the missing part of his skull.

He and his family, who went through the five-month nightmare with him, now want to help others by sharing their story. This was triggered by the fact that the family had craved to speak to someone who had been through something similar.

“We have told our story in the hope that it will help others who have suffered a family trauma or may be experiencing one right now.

“In turn, by sharing our story it has also helped us, as a family, to start to heal. It is for this reason that we believe in our support group Survivors Malta on Facebook,” Ms Cachia said.

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