Story of Jamshid

I am following the trace of his look. He is staring through the half open curtains of the Mahak hospital welcome room at the surrounding mountains. His eyes are eagerly searching the rocks and he says, “ At a height of 3850 m on Alamkooh, there is a shelter which is called Sarchal. Surrounding it, there are many summits that are higher than 4000 m such as Siahkaman, Takhtsoleiman, Siahgook, Siahsang…. There is a little shelter which has a capacity of almost 200 people.
When you are returning to Alamkooh, you arrive at precipice which is the last place and last chance you have to turn back and look at the summits and the shelter. There have been many times when I have wanted to climb down that place and look back for the last time- my eyes are teary. I do not know whether I will have the chance to go there again or not. This place is the most relaxing place in the world for me.”
The person talking so beautifully about the mountains and mountain climbing is a climber who has proven himself in both overcoming difficult mountain tracks as well as life’s difficulties.  Jamshid Biglarian, the chief of the Kelardasht mountain climbing committee, was one of the children who had been under the support of Mahak and had defeated his cancer like the summits that he climbs these days.
Jamshid is a 28 years old man, from Kelardasht, who is currently a master science student in civil engineering. When he was 12, he was stricken by Lanphom Broukit and had to travel to Tehran for treatment purposes. While he was in the Ali Asghar hospital, Jamshid became familiar with Mahak through the Mahak assistants who frequently visited the hospital.  Soon, he was transferred to and supported by Mahak. Jamshid believes that the difficulties of those days were  more of a burden for his parents and his family than for himself since they were forced to watch as their child grew sick and tried hard to save him.  Jamshid’s treatment lasted three years until finally, he was able to overcome the cancer. Even when he was being treated with chemotherapy,  Jamshid still went mountain climbing with his father and his sister’s husband who were both members of the national mountain climbing team. Even at his worst, he says that cancer never forced him to quit mountain climbing and that he did not allow the cancer to deprive him of his passions and joys.
Jamshid talks about the calm and relaxed spirit of his hometown people. Since all his family members and neighbors came to help Jamshid and his family with their kindness and high motivations, they were unable to lose hope. Jamshid says, “Nowadays,  when I visit Mahak, I see that the staff members behave the same way with the Mahak children as they do with members of their own families. When I was a patient, I was a stranger in Tehran but the Mahak assistants made me feel as if I had been in my own hometown. They behaved very kindly and warm. Once when I came to Tehran for chemotherapy, it was near Nouroz holidays and I was depressed that I could not be at home. However, we received a paper from Mahak on which an address was written that said that we could visit and choose whichever costume we preferred. I remember that I was very excited and this memory of Mahak is still very lovely for me.”
Jamshid believes that, “Seeing people who have defeated cancer is very helpful for the children stricken with cancer and their families because they can gain a more powerful spirit, accept the reality more easily, and can draw a better future for themselves. So, because of this, I will always give help as a successful model in overcoming the cancer as well as a successful model in education and sports.
Jamshid Biglarian, one of the children stricken by cancer under Mahak support, is now a young engineer studying at the complementary stages of education in full health. He is doing mapping and building designing and even spends time cycling, skiing and mountain climbing. Jamshid has climbed many summits like Damavand, Zardkooh, Alvand, Alamkooh, Takhte soleyman, Azadkooh, and Ararat summits in Turkey. Jamshid is an example of a miracle at Mahak. Just like Jamshid, the people at Mahak hope that all of its children overcome by the disease can recover and find their way toward success.