The story of Jacob Cachia, “the boy who lived”, has made it to Queen Elizabeth’s book collection.

Jacob survived a rare brain infection in 2013 and his family has since reached out to others dealing with the trauma. This included the setting up of the NGO Survivors Malta and the publication of the book Jacob – My Titanium Man, whose royalties kickstarted the dream of opening a coffee shop.

The letter from the Queen.The letter from the Queen.

The young man’s shop is called Jacob’s Brew – Pay It Forward and was opened as a social enterprise.

To their delight, mother and son have just received a letter from Buckingham Palace, saying the Queen was pleased to receive the book and hear about the “very important services you provide to your local community in Malta through Jacob’s Brew café”.

The book tells Jacob’s story through the eyes of a mother who nearly lost her son.

Ms Cachia said she was glad the book got the recognition it deserved: “Just knowing that our story brings hope to others is reward enough for me,” she noted.

She told the Times of Malta that British High Commissioner Stuart William Gill had passed on the book to the Queen, signed by Jacob and herself. In it, Jacob wrote: “Be prepared to be inspired and please pass it on to others who need it.”

READ: 'I call him my titanium man'

Jacob, 20, is very grateful that the High Commissioner kept his promise and told his mother: “Who knows… maybe one day the Queen will invite us for tea.”

Jacob serves his own tea at the coffee shop in Marsascala, a dream that came true soon after Ms Cachia co-authored the book with columnist Kristina Chetcuti. 

Survivors Malta prepares free sandwiches and beverages at the café and delivers them to families in the waiting area at Mater Dei Hospital’s intensive care unit.

An upcoming project partly funded by the cafeteria is called Reunited Pet Cabin. It will see the setting up of a place at Mater Dei where patients can spend some time with their beloved dogs.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.