After surviving a rare brain infection, teenager Jacob Cachia told his mother that, if he had one wish, it would be to cure all illnesses.
Since this is not possible, at least not in the foreseeable future, the Cachia family is working on the next best thing: helping those facing illness through the Survivors Malta support group.
This week the support group will be reaching out to patients and their loved ones at Mater Dei Hospital in its first official awareness campaign.
He will be turning the tooth – which he named ‘the tooth of courage’ – into a pendant
“We still remember what it was like to be there, in hospital, wishing that someone would approach us to tell us not to give up and share their experience,” said Jacob’s mother, Sarah.
The campaign will continue throughout the week, until Sunday, between 9am and 7pm at the reception area.
“The aim is to let others in need know there is a place to go for inspiration and motivation given by survivors who tell their stories and share their experiences. A place where others will understand them because they know what it’s like to be in that dark place but have also experienced the joy of surviving their trauma,” she said.
Volunteers will be giving out about 1,000 red love-heart balloons to families visiting sick loved ones to tie to the foot of their beds, sending them a message from Survivors Malta to never give up.
And Jacob himself will be one of those patients because, towards the end of the week, he will be undergoing an operation to correct a deviated septum in order to avoid future risk of brain infection.
While flyers will be distributed, the campaign will go beyond that. With every flyer volunteers will speak to those facing trauma in their families.
“We will continue to spread the word on our mission to make Survivors Malta the missing link between the patients, their families and the professionals, creating a chain of support stronger and better than ever before,” Ms Cachia said.
On the final day of the campaign, the animation team Cheeramigos would help spread joy to sick children and their families in the children’s wards between 11am and 1pm, she said, thanking the sponsors who made this possible. These included Carmel Galea Partygoods Malta, 202 Jewellery, Abbey Printers Malta, ClearPrintMalta.com and Multigas.
Jacob, now 16, contracted a brain infection in January last year and left the hospital in June following three operations that included removing part of his skull that could not be put back in place due to swelling. Theoperation left the right side of his brain vulnerable and, some months ago, he underwent an operation to replace the missing part of his skull with a titanium plate – earning him the proud nickname Titanium Man.
More recently, Jacob removed a tooth that had sprouted during his stay in hospital. In typical teenager fashion, he will be turning the tooth – which he named “the tooth of courage” – into a pendant.