Stud Karl Dimachki survives tongue cancer, sings on X Factor

He fought and beat cancer, but it lefts it mark, ruining his tongue and lower lip. The cancer left but left him behind disfigured and with a lisp, leaving it impossible for him to sing the way he used to. 

No way does a guy with a disfigured tongue and lip do what Karl Dimachki did last week. 

The other night, he performed on the Australian version of "X Factor." He won't win it, and to be completely honest, I'm surprised the judges voted him on to the next round (albeit not without the obligatory dramatic pause and eternal wait that has become as much a staple of reality television as anything else). But what Dimachki did is one of the bravest things I think I've ever seen anyone do. I'm terrified of singing in front of people, but that's because I suck. 

Dimachki's a great singer, a great singer whose ability has been unfairly wrecked by cancer. Now, he can still hit the right notes and everything else, but as a great singer, he knows he can't sing the way most people want to hear someone sing. But still, he took to the stage, and he sang, in front of millions, as beautifully and imperfectly as he could. 

Yeah, the girl judge cried. 

Heck, I sort of wanted to cry.

"I'm just here to prove a point," he said. "If you have a dream, go on and do it, 'cause God will always put a hero inside you."

So here's to you Karl Dimachki.

And here's to us. Are you good at something? Then do it, without fear, and without reserve, because you never know when something like cancer will do to you what it did to Karl Dimachki. Life is precious, and our lives are fragile, and so we must treasure them.