Jacob Cachia in his Titanium Man T-shirt after a successful operation on his skull. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Teenager Jacob Cachia is back home and recovering well from last week’s operation in which a titanium plate was used to replace part of his skull, removed after he contracted a rare brain infection.

Now 16, Jacob no longer has to live in fear of hitting his head because the titanium plate is shielding the right side of his brain where the skull had been removed.

The operation also represented the beginning of his transformation into a new superhero – Titanium Man, a nickname given to him by his mother, Sarah, with whom he set up the Facebook support group, Survivors Malta.

“This whole experience just reinforced my belief in Survivors Malta.

“I had members coming to visit me, even while Jacob was in surgery.

“Some were mothers whose children had brain surgery and it was comforting to speak to someone who’s been through it,” his mother said.

Now that Jacob has transformed into Titanium Man – complete with a T-shirt – he is also aware that with great power comes great responsibility and that of Titanium Man is to spread the message: never give up.