Help Maryam in Battle with Blood Cancer

Hello to you who opened the door of kindness in your heart just by reading this story ❤️

The brink of having an ordinary and happy life and facing a catastrophe could be just a few hours apart, to realize your life is ruined and will never be the same again. 

On an afternoon just a few days ago, my friend Maryam suddenly sensed a sharp pain in her back, like the one so many of us might have experienced after a wrong move or heavy lift. But hers was different. The pain was excruciating, and she passed out.  In the hospital, the doctors told her two back joints were shattered. After a few tests, they diagnosed her with Multiple Myeloma Cancer, a type of severe blood cancer in which abnormal plasma cells (a type of white blood cell) build up in the bone marrow and form tumours in many body bones.

Maryam lives in Turkey on a work permit.  She works there and has health insurance, but the life-shattering moment happens again; her insurance rejects any claim or treatment for cancer.  Maryam is not a Turkish citizen and won’t receive any public health service without paying the high cost of medicines and treatments. The unthinkable is that she cannot even fly back home, possibly to reduce the cost, as doctors have banned her movement since there is a risk of bone shattering in the other parts of her body.

To me, Maryam is an idol of resistance and positivity when it comes to the future, and it can bring to you. She has always been so strong and independent, relying only on her capabilities and pursuit of a better life. Knowing how kind-hearted she is in helping and caring for people, I started this fundraising to ask all my friends, family, acquaintances and anyone who reads this page to imagine for a moment the pain and burden that Maryam and her husband feel these days and support this cause to ease some of their difficulties and create hope for the future.  

Sometimes we need a reminder of what could happen to each and any one of us; yes, we are vulnerable too. The verge between happiness and misfortune sometimes could be this narrow. We might need others just like they need us now. We need to spread love and support as much as we like to receive it; that makes us human.

My plea is to contribute as much or as little as you can. The amount is insignificant; the feeling it leaves behind is vital to you and, most certainly, to the person you are helping. So, please let’s shout this fact, not only for this fundraising but for any other we come across, that ignoring a fundraiser merely because your donation is little is the ONLY irrational and non-acceptable reason. All other explanations are yours and respectful.

I thank you with all my heart for taking a moment to read my friend’s story and sharing it with your friends and family.

Atena Mirshahi