Nicasio's New Life
NICASIO Cardenas is heading home to a new life in the Philippines after having miracle surgery in Melbourne.
Nicasio, 26, will pursue his dream of marriage and family after his life-saving surgery.
He arrived in Australia in February 2008 with his brain literally growing out of his nose, a condition known as a neural tube defect.
Thanks to the work of Brighton plastic surgeon Alan Breidahl and a team of volunteers, he has a new face and new hopes for his future.
"It's like I am dreaming," Nicasio said.
"It is much better than I was ever thinking.
"I am looking forward to going home and showing my family and friends."
At the Epworth Hospital, he underwent a complicated five-hour operation to remove the large growth, after being brought to Australia by the Rotary Club of Altona .
His smile lights up the Brighton surgery where Dr Breidahl normally conducts his "other life" -- breast enhancement, nose jobs and face lifts.
The operation was necessary to ward off potential blindness and even death.
"I prayed for this to happen since I was born but I was afraid to get my hopes up in case it wasn't true," said Nicasio.
He describes the surgery as the start of the rest of his life.
The youngest of eight children from a very poor family, Nicasio comes from the Cagyan Valley, 600km north of Manila.
He loves playing sport, especially basketball.
He has a girlfriend -- Loret, a maid -- who he said "accepted me with this condition".
Now he can't wait to see her reaction when she sees his new face.
After he arrived in February there was an exhausting schedule of CT scans, blood tests and X-rays, so he hasn't had much chance to explore Melbourne.
One thing he was able to do was to help the Altona members at a sausage sizzle at Bunnings.
He said before the surgery that he didn't dwell on his disfigurement but confessed to sometimes crying in private at the way he looked.
"It stopped me from getting a job because when people see me they looked down on me."
Neural tube defects are extremely rare in Australia. Dr Breidahl has seen about 15 similar cases in his international humanitarian work.
"Intellectually it (the growth) hasn't affected Nicasio at all," Dr Breidahl said.
"It affected the social aspects, of course."
