WHEN Ahmed Kelly was told he was leaving Iraq for treatment in Australia, he envisaged a sterile life condemned to a hospital bed.
Now the North Melbourne resident, who was born with disabilities in all four of his limbs, is heading to London for a tilt at swimming glory at his first Paralympics.
Growing up in a Baghdad orphanage for children with disabilities, Kelly used to wait at the window, watching kids heading off to school and hoping that one day he would join them.
He and his brother Emmanuel were the "fortunate" ones at the home, he said, able to move around without any assistance.
"The nuns do a fantastic job raising that many kids. It's such a credit to them," Kelly said.
An amputee from both his elbows and knees down, Kelly quickly dismissed any thought that life just may have dealt him a tough lot.
"I thought of Australia just being like a hospital bed - I was going to be in a hospital bed and that was it.
"It never occurred to me the freedom - that I'd be thriving in sports, having the opportunity to go to school."
Small fragments of memory remain of his early years in Baghdad.
But although grateful to those who raised him, he doesn't dwell on the past. His eyes are firmly set on this month's London meet, where he will compete in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events.
"Hopefully I'll swim a personal best and I'd definitely like a world record in the end result.
"And with the world record would come gold so that would be a dream."
Kelly encouraged young people with disabilities to pursue their Paralympic dreams - but only if they loved their chosen sport.
"It's a tough road - the early mornings, the tough training and floggings in the water.
"You need to be able to enjoy it."
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