Missing fingers and six painful operations to correct his deformed legs have failed to dampen a 17-year-old’s steely resolve to chase his dreams.

Cast aside barriers and don’t let judgements bring you down

Instead, Julian Bajada’s physical disabilities have fired him with a passion to share his story and motivate others in a similar predicament to crush the obstacles they face by changing their attitude.

“I can’t say I’m without faults, but accepting this is the first step to being the person I want to be and that is to inspire others by what I’m doing,” he said.

Julian decided to share his story with The Sunday Times after he recently watched a Youtube video of a 27-year-old man – who was born without arms and legs but could swim, run and write using his mouth.

The limbless Nick Vujicic travels around the world giving inspirational talks and sharing the principles he learnt in life – being thankful for what he had, which was hard – and sharing his experiences of how he overcame life’s storms.

Mr Vujicic’s maxim is “attitude isaltitude” and he goes to schools telling young people that “it’s a lie to think you’re not good enough, that you’re not worth anything”.

Julian’s eyes glaze as the video ends and he talks about how he was inspired by this man’s account.

Born on May 1, 1994, with a severe form of femoral fibular ulnar syndrome, a rare condition that affected his upper and lower limbs, Julian’s future looked far from promising. His parents, Christine and Karl, were told that their second child would never be able to walk, run, write or lead a normal life.

His right forearm and hand, except for his thumb, were missing, he had four fingers on his left hand and both his legs were short, with his shin bones bent forward and his toes pointing downwards.

The first operation was performed on Julian’s first birthday and it enabled him to walk within three months. Then he had another four operations at the ages of eight, 11, 12 and 14, where his shin was fractured and placed in an external metal frame with 17 pins going through the bone.

Each operation was followed by a very painful three-month process where the screws and struts on the frame were turned to correct and lengthen his legs.

“At times I used to wonder if this would ever end. My consultant never made any promises or raised hopes, I remember before each operation he’d explain the risks – there were always a whole page of consequences and just two benefits,” he recalls.

At school, where youngsters were taught to count the numbers on their fingers, he struggled and not being able to take part in PE classes was frustrating.

The boy, who attended San Andrea School with his older sister Francesca and younger brother Steven, believes he has been lucky not to encounter bullying. On the contrary, he got tremendous support from the staff and his classmates.

But while most youngsters look forward to their summer holidays, for Julian these meant flying to London for an operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“London, London, London is all I remember of my summers when I was younger. My mum was always by my side, but being away from the rest of my family and friends was tough,” he says, adding, however, that he still loves the city and would love to one day work in its financial district.

Once the treatment was over, Julian would return to Malta and go back to school, but not before taking a dose of morphine in the morning to alleviate the pain.

“It was a deep pain where you feel like your muscles are being torn. I couldn’t sleep at night and even the simple movement of lifting a leg was unbearable.”

His dream was to play football, but each time he got close to this through physiotherapy and rehabilitation, he would have to go to the UK for another operation.

Looking back on those days, Julian feels indebted to his parents who always encouraged him to adapt, be independent and focus on what he had, rather than what he did not.

This has imbued him with a positive attitude and a confidence to believe nothing can stop him. He defied doctors’ predictions and today he can play football, lead an independent life and manage to do pretty much everything with onehand. He also attends St Aloysius Sixth Form where he is studying accounts and economics.

“They say I’m an image of my parents, but I only have a fraction of their courage and selflessness. They have been amazing in dealing with my condition and keeping the family together; and all this at a time when my own mother was battling with cancer. I didn’t know it then, which makes her support all the more special,” he says.

His message to those with physical disabilities is: “Nothing is impossible. Don’t be afraid of failing; it’s an experience you can always learn from and not being classified as ‘normal’ is not that bad.”

“I want to show people they can do whatever they set their mind on. Cast aside the barriers and don’t let other­ people’s judgments bring you down,” he urges with infectious enthusiasm. His motto in life is “dream, believe and aspire to inspire”.

Sharing his story is the first step in his journey to hearten others not to crumble in the face of life’s obstacles.