A Maltese businessman who was shot in the head during the war in Libya and left severely disabled has opened up about his struggles since that fateful day.

Matthew Dingli ran a successful woodwork factory with his partner in the North African country until the Second Libyan Civil War broke out in 2014. Within months, the country destabilised drastically, and on 6th March, 2015, gunmen found Dingli and tried to rob him.

During the robbery, Dingli was shot in the head – and he lives with the bullet firmly lodged inside him till this day, unable to remove it as it might kill him.

“I had gone to Libya for work, and then the war broke out and I was called to come back home to Malta but I didn’t go back,” Dingli said in an interview with TVM.

“They came to rob me and shot me in the head because I didn’t used to leave anything at home because of the war. Now, I have a bullet in my head. I don’t taste anything, I don’t feel anything… if you cut my arms or legs off I won’t feel it, I don’t even need anaesthetic because I don’t feel anything.”

Dingli, who is now 38-years-old, spent years recovering at the St. Vincent de Paule residence. Now, he lives at the newly-opened Narcissus centre with three others, and says that he is happy living there as the ward includes other people his age, and not just elderly patients.

The centre, which opened in February, caters for people who have become disabled due to an accident or need long-term care. It is equipped with a gym, indoor pool and multi-sensory room to help aid patients recovery and stability.