0:00:05.833,0:00:08.120
The day that changed my destiny

0:00:08.120,0:00:11.692
was an ordinary day, like all others.

0:00:14.619,0:00:18.582
One of those cold winter nights[br]when all you want to do,

0:00:18.582,0:00:23.622
is to make a cup of tea,[br]pick up a good novel, sit on the couch,

0:00:23.622,0:00:27.064
next to the fireplace and enjoy life.

0:00:27.064,0:00:29.208
But I had to go to work.

0:00:31.672,0:00:34.392
More importantly, in the afternoon,

0:00:34.392,0:00:38.818
I had to take my 2-year-old[br]to her routine checkup.

0:00:38.818,0:00:42.020
The next day was her second birthday,

0:00:43.309,0:00:45.690
But that day was not a normal day,

0:00:45.690,0:00:48.879
and that checkup was not a routine one.

0:00:48.879,0:00:51.697
At 5 am the next morning,

0:00:52.705,0:00:58.229
I was standing in behind the doors[br]of the hospital operating room.

0:00:58.229,0:01:00.624
From the small window,

0:01:02.043,0:01:07.156
I was watching the heated debate[br]amongst the physicians

0:01:07.156,0:01:09.735
over what they should do.

0:01:10.301,0:01:14.028
My little girl, was laying on the bed,[br]under anesthesia.

0:01:14.028,0:01:17.881
No one had told me anything since 6 pm,[br]the day before about what had happened.

0:01:17.881,0:01:21.565
With all my questions, all my anxiety,

0:01:24.302,0:01:27.983
I could clearly see from their faces[br]that something is very wrong.

0:01:27.983,0:01:33.483
No one would tell me anything more[br]than what they thought I needed to know.

0:01:33.483,0:01:37.038
It was my right to know,[br]but they did not give me that.

0:01:37.038,0:01:40.791
I felt anger on top of all[br]that was going on.

0:01:42.175,0:01:45.567
I had no choice but to stand there.

0:01:45.567,0:01:47.914
I had done all the yelling and screaming.

0:01:47.914,0:01:49.944
I had told them I didn't believe them.

0:01:49.944,0:01:53.098
I had told them I won't let anyone[br]touch my little girl,

0:01:53.098,0:01:56.157
I won't let anyone operate[br]on my two year old child,

0:01:56.157,0:02:01.725
that I'd fly this very night[br]to another place that had better resources

0:02:02.192,0:02:06.252
so they could tell me without surgery[br]what was wrong.

0:02:06.252,0:02:10.697
But they told me[br]that every minute counts now.

0:02:10.697,0:02:15.667
So I had to stand there,[br]quietly, patiently.

0:02:16.027,0:02:18.860
That was nearly impossible.

0:02:18.860,0:02:23.132
You all know that look on the face[br]of someone about to deliver bad news.

0:02:23.132,0:02:26.381
Seeing that face, you won't wait for news,

0:02:26.381,0:02:28.627
your whole world begins to spin.

0:02:28.627,0:02:31.107
For me, that bad news was like a tsunami.

0:02:31.107,0:02:36.592
All my life, future plans,[br]happiness, comfort,

0:02:38.242,0:02:43.782
feeling of serendipity, everything[br]was washed away by this tsunami.

0:02:44.642,0:02:49.542
It took me a long time to realize[br]that bad news is not bad in essence.

0:02:49.542,0:02:53.220
It takes time to discover[br]whether the news is good or bad.

0:02:53.220,0:02:55.465
But on that day,

0:02:58.183,0:03:01.527
that news was a very bad one for me.

0:03:01.527,0:03:04.550
It paralyzed me from making a decision.

0:03:05.899,0:03:09.808
A relentless anger burned inside me[br]as strong as a dragon.

0:03:10.528,0:03:14.528
Why? Why my little angel? Why me?

0:03:16.435,0:03:18.665
What have I done to deserve this?

0:03:18.665,0:03:22.015
For my little girl to have cancer? Cancer?

0:03:22.015,0:03:25.385
My 2 year old, on the eve of her birthday.

0:03:26.332,0:03:31.385
In life, we all face unbelievable moments,

0:03:32.400,0:03:38.370
unbelievable events when we know[br]we have no choice but to surrender.

0:03:40.112,0:03:42.994
We immediately started treatment

0:03:44.302,0:03:46.232
because in the doctors' opinion,

0:03:46.232,0:03:49.592
one displaced cancerous cell[br]could change everything

0:03:49.592,0:03:52.601
and treatment needed to start right away.

0:03:52.601,0:03:57.331
After a week of going back and forth[br]to the hospital where she was,

0:03:57.331,0:04:01.101
because of the long distance[br]and Tehran's bad traffic,

0:04:01.101,0:04:06.381
and the friendship of the medical team,[br]who were family friends,

0:04:06.381,0:04:09.671
my daughter was transferred[br]to the Shohada Hospital in Tajrish Sq.,

0:04:09.671,0:04:11.562
closer to my home.

0:04:13.066,0:04:17.871
I assumed all this will make things[br]a bit easier but the first day

0:04:17.871,0:04:24.150
I entered the new hospital I realized how[br]small I was in the grand scheme of things.

0:04:26.695,0:04:29.537
I didn't feel any less angry[br]but in that moment,

0:04:29.537,0:04:32.537
I realized that for 30 years,

0:04:32.537,0:04:35.886
I had walked by the tall and cold walls

0:04:35.886,0:04:40.099
of that place an never once thought[br]about what went on inside.

0:04:40.109,0:04:44.899
All desperate people sitting in there,[br]all the people waiting for something.

0:04:44.899,0:04:50.749
I'd passed by these walls[br]on my way to university or elsewhere,

0:04:50.749,0:04:55.166
not thinking of the mass of people[br]spending impossible moments

0:04:55.166,0:04:57.596
on the other side.

0:04:57.596,0:05:00.736
How come I had never stepped[br]foot into this place?

0:05:00.736,0:05:04.116
What could I do now? Nothing![br]I was there for my own child.

0:05:04.116,0:05:06.698
I was desperate with my own problem.

0:05:06.698,0:05:08.138
I couldn't do anything.

0:05:08.658,0:05:10.848
So, we continued the treatment.

0:05:13.992,0:05:18.232
The cold winter days passed.[br]Norouz celebration arrived.

0:05:18.232,0:05:20.976
Norouz which bore so much meaning[br]for everyone else,

0:05:20.976,0:05:23.421
was meaningless to me.

0:05:23.421,0:05:27.120
In fact, I felt upset that everyone thinks[br]all is well and joyous,

0:05:27.120,0:05:31.383
celebrating the arrival of spring,[br]with all colorful customs of the New Year.

0:05:31.383,0:05:33.485
Time had stopped for me.

0:05:33.485,0:05:36.255
Nothing else, not my family,

0:05:36.255,0:05:38.825
not my other child existed for me.

0:05:40.405,0:05:42.695
The holidays passed.

0:05:42.695,0:05:46.975
The day after I had to go back[br]to the hospital,

0:05:46.975,0:05:51.515
to review the plans[br]for second rounds of chemo,

0:05:52.735,0:05:53.735
and there...

0:05:55.405,0:06:00.335
I saw Maryam, one of the mothers[br]who I'd always noticed.

0:06:00.335,0:06:03.325
She is a middle aged woman,

0:06:03.325,0:06:06.435
with a face showing signs of starvation,

0:06:06.435,0:06:09.763
with shabby clothes, but... dignified.

0:06:10.985,0:06:16.535
She had a 13 year old boy[br]that was always barefoot on her shoulder.

0:06:17.855,0:06:20.305
We had come and gone before Norouz.

0:06:20.305,0:06:25.336
This time too I saw her going in,[br]carrying a bundle of herbs,

0:06:25.336,0:06:28.815
a bouquet of flowers and her son. [br]

0:06:31.193,0:06:33.730
I quickly nodded and passed by her.[br]That's it.

0:06:34.025,0:06:36.514
I wasn't even polite enough

0:06:36.514,0:06:39.567
to wish her happy New year.

0:06:39.567,0:06:44.904
I passed her as I did not want to spend[br]even one extra minute in that place.

0:06:46.264,0:06:49.560
As I walked a few steps past,[br]she called to me.

0:06:50.120,0:06:51.685
I thought, oh gosh,

0:06:51.685,0:06:54.404
I bet she wants to wish me[br]happy New year...

0:06:54.404,0:06:57.109
Happy New year to yourself.

0:06:57.109,0:06:59.021
I don't think it's happy at all.

0:06:59.021,0:07:02.477
Or, she's trying to get ahead of me.[br]So I ignored her and kept wlaking.

0:07:02.477,0:07:03.797
She called again.

0:07:03.797,0:07:06.517
I thought, ok, now I'll turn around[br]and tell her,

0:07:06.517,0:07:09.187
"You know what dear, I'm very busy today.

0:07:09.187,0:07:12.137
I have to go, sorry,[br]I can't stop and chat."

0:07:12.137,0:07:14.187
So... I turned around.

0:07:16.267,0:07:19.908
I turned and saw face[br]glowing like the moon,

0:07:22.037,0:07:25.039
two eyes full of sunshine.

0:07:30.832,0:07:34.442
(Applause)

0:07:41.885,0:07:45.815
A bouquet of wildflowers, lilies, tulips,

0:07:45.815,0:07:51.788
narcissus, all shades of purple and red,[br]and green in front of me.

0:07:53.295,0:07:57.195
Then she said: "I picked these[br]from Turkmen Sahra,

0:07:57.195,0:08:00.137
I prayed that I'd see you,

0:08:00.137,0:08:03.207
I wanted to tell you, God is great.

0:08:03.207,0:08:05.438
Why are you so restless?

0:08:05.438,0:08:09.014
Be calm, this too will pass[br]it will all pass.

0:08:10.255,0:08:15.782
I apologize for getting emotional,[br]though it's been some twenty years now.

0:08:18.237,0:08:23.809
It is because in that moment all my pulses[br]stopped, everything stopped.

0:08:25.827,0:08:29.927
Even my heart, I think even my heart,[br]stopped beating for a few seconds.

0:08:29.937,0:08:32.874
I thought what am I to do now?

0:08:33.897,0:08:36.347
Did I really ignore this woman?

0:08:36.347,0:08:39.589
Was I really going talk[br]to her in that way?

0:08:39.589,0:08:42.139
What was I thinking? Who am I?

0:08:42.139,0:08:45.019
Who am I? Who is this? Who am I?

0:08:45.119,0:08:47.322
And in those moments...

0:08:47.692,0:08:53.962
Seeing my struggle, she placed the flowers[br]on my daughter's lap in the stroller,

0:08:53.962,0:08:56.818
on her skirt, and went away.

0:09:02.582,0:09:06.812
I remained there, with a light[br]that suddenly lit up inside me.

0:09:06.812,0:09:09.412
And I saw myself from Maryam's eyes.

0:09:09.412,0:09:14.517
I saw an angry, entitled woman who always[br]has a reason to be dissatisfied,

0:09:16.869,0:09:19.139
who thinks that she's different,

0:09:20.405,0:09:24.505
who is now squatting in the corner[br]of her cold, dark, lonely cave.

0:09:25.417,0:09:28.577
Why? Because I had pushed away my friends.

0:09:28.577,0:09:31.830
Because I hated being the subject of pity.

0:09:33.169,0:09:37.059
I had stopped my family[br]because they had all kinds of suggestions,

0:09:37.059,0:09:39.849
each one saying something different:[br]do this, do that.

0:09:39.849,0:09:41.839
I had told everyone I didn't want them,

0:09:41.839,0:09:44.569
that I want to focus all my energy[br]on this child,

0:09:44.569,0:09:46.739
receiving multiple CCs[br]of poison every day,

0:09:46.739,0:09:50.109
whose veins are burning, who is screaming,[br]"I'm burning, I'm burning!"

0:09:50.109,0:09:54.059
None of you know what you're talking[br]about, I don't want your advice.

0:09:54.059,0:09:55.799
I had pushed away her doctors.

0:09:55.799,0:09:58.499
They did their job of course,

0:09:58.499,0:10:01.802
but they knew I didn't believe in them.

0:10:03.229,0:10:07.029
I looked and saw myself[br]in the corner of the cave, sitting alone,

0:10:07.029,0:10:10.081
building thicker walls each day.

0:10:14.871,0:10:18.341
But I could hear[br]the cracks in the ice too.

0:10:18.341,0:10:20.511
I could hear them breaking down.

0:10:20.511,0:10:23.111
A ray of light shining through the cracks

0:10:23.141,0:10:28.591
was showing me, sitting in the corner,[br]squatting with my head on my knees.

0:10:32.051,0:10:35.891
I thought... I have no choice,[br]but to go forward,

0:10:35.891,0:10:38.426
to pick myself off the ground and say,

0:10:38.426,0:10:40.876
"Get up Saideh, get up!

0:10:42.252,0:10:45.332
Come to your senses![br]Watch Maryam!

0:10:45.332,0:10:48.851
She has a thousandth of your resources,

0:10:51.672,0:10:53.672
she gives what little is in her power.

0:10:53.672,0:10:58.362
She has picked these flowers for you,[br]from the other side of the world.

0:10:58.372,0:11:02.752
Who are you? Be the kind of person[br]that is worthy of this love,

0:11:02.762,0:11:04.222
Learn something!"

0:11:04.222,0:11:07.121
In those moments of awareness,

0:11:08.217,0:11:12.217
I believe I subconsciously[br]made a promise to myself

0:11:12.217,0:11:16.217
that from that day forth,[br]I would seek to learn

0:11:16.217,0:11:22.187
Maryam and the Maryams of the world,[br]and dedicate my life to serving them.

0:11:24.589,0:11:27.059
I wasn't fully aware of the promise.

0:11:27.059,0:11:29.439
It was just a fire[br]that Maryam had lit inside me.

0:11:29.439,0:11:31.459
This woman had 4 children.

0:11:31.459,0:11:35.699
She worked in the rice paddies[br]in the north of Iran.

0:11:35.699,0:11:37.009
And...

0:11:38.019,0:11:40.060
her husband had died in the war.

0:11:41.920,0:11:45.740
And since this was the period[br]right after the war in Iran,

0:11:45.740,0:11:50.560
due to resource scarcity,[br]the priority of the healthcare system

0:11:51.850,0:11:55.090
was saving soldiers and their families,[br]

0:11:56.559,0:11:59.379
but not a child with cancer.

0:12:00.559,0:12:03.709
Because the understanding back then,

0:12:04.958,0:12:09.988
we're talking some 20 years ago, was:[br]a child with cancer will eventually die.

0:12:09.998,0:12:14.688
In those days, the only people fighting[br]for them were their mothers.

0:12:14.702,0:12:18.882
A mother, if her child is a month old,[br]and is lost in the depth of the ocean,

0:12:18.892,0:12:21.022
she will dive in to save her,

0:12:21.022,0:12:24.182
because she'd still have hope[br]that she can save her child.

0:12:24.182,0:12:26.422
So, it was the mothers who were fighting.

0:12:26.422,0:12:28.892
Maryam was one of those mothers.

0:12:28.892,0:12:31.562
She was carrying her 13 year old child[br]on her shoulders,

0:12:31.562,0:12:33.252
to Tehran to get treated.

0:12:35.423,0:12:38.313
I had made a promise to myself.

0:12:38.313,0:12:40.847
The first was to learn from Maryam.

0:12:40.847,0:12:45.797
Maryam's secret is something[br]all of us in this place need.

0:12:45.797,0:12:49.254
Live without expectation,[br]love without expectation.

0:12:49.937,0:12:51.830
Give without expectation.

0:12:51.830,0:12:54.140
Her only expectation was of herself.

0:12:54.140,0:12:57.150
Everything she wanted,[br]she wanted it of herself.

0:12:57.150,0:13:02.253
This trait was so powerful in this woman[br]that she filled her surrounding

0:13:03.010,0:13:09.063
with her energy and made an impact,[br]as she had changed my world.

0:13:13.363,0:13:17.593
The second part of my promise[br]was to live a life of service to them.

0:13:17.593,0:13:19.043
As I took the first steps,

0:13:19.043,0:13:21.453
naturally there was the perception,

0:13:21.453,0:13:23.743
"Pfff...a child with cancer...[br]in this country...

0:13:23.743,0:13:25.413
such expensive medicine."

0:13:25.413,0:13:29.033
This, that, and the other thing,[br]"Why would anyone bother?"

0:13:29.033,0:13:31.603
The officials would dismiss me saying,

0:13:31.603,0:13:35.733
"Go home lady, children with cancer[br]are a lost cause."

0:13:36.823,0:13:41.563
But I was compelled,[br]not through my own willpower,

0:13:41.563,0:13:45.623
but emboldened by the fire[br]that Maryam has lit inside me.

0:13:45.623,0:13:48.933
There was no room for second thoughts.

0:13:48.933,0:13:51.740
So I kept going, my going was first steps.

0:13:54.963,0:13:58.023
And then, it was help pouring in[br]from all sides.

0:13:58.023,0:13:59.873
You, sitting in this audience,

0:14:00.613,0:14:01.893
I am certain

0:14:02.673,0:14:04.983
that you are the same helpers,

0:14:05.583,0:14:07.353
at least 80-90% of you are,

0:14:07.353,0:14:10.437
people who have helped us on this path.

0:14:11.444,0:14:13.066
What was the result?

0:14:13.066,0:14:15.672
The result is that today, in homeland,

0:14:16.696,0:14:20.127
no child with cancer will die of poverty.

0:14:22.361,0:14:24.079
(Applause)

0:14:35.124,0:14:39.094
If you allow me to continue,[br]you will like hearing the rest even more.

0:14:40.140,0:14:43.473
Because you are applauding yourself,

0:14:44.530,0:14:48.300
and the people who created a miracle,[br]by trusting each other and joining force.

0:14:48.300,0:14:51.307
What happened is that no father[br]had to stand ashamed anymore

0:14:51.307,0:14:56.987
at the pharmacy counter[br]because he has no money for the medicine.

0:14:56.997,0:15:02.497
No mother had to crawl in the dark cave[br]because she didn't know what has happened

0:15:02.497,0:15:05.687
and couldn't accept[br]what those around her told her.

0:15:05.687,0:15:09.721
Because, now, there is an organization[br]of this scale supporting them.

0:15:09.721,0:15:14.271
They have access to many volunteer,[br]professional psychologists,

0:15:14.271,0:15:17.086
who teach them how to cope[br]with these problems.

0:15:17.086,0:15:21.586
Their other children,[br]the sisters and brothers,

0:15:21.586,0:15:24.346
don't have to miss school anymore

0:15:24.346,0:15:27.986
because their parents can continue[br]their normal lives,

0:15:27.986,0:15:30.016
while solving this problem.

0:15:30.016,0:15:32.699
You have made all of this possible.

0:15:34.016,0:15:37.336
This is what I wanted to share with you.

0:15:38.094,0:15:42.479
In going through this journey[br]I have discovered an absolute truth:

0:15:45.194,0:15:48.834
Within every human being,[br]without exception,

0:15:50.074,0:15:52.876
there is a seed of a miracle.

0:15:56.692,0:15:59.682
Some due to circumstances...

0:16:00.725,0:16:05.405
Some spend their life[br]in complete ignorance like I was.

0:16:06.625,0:16:08.985
In that world that they're in,[br]they have no time,

0:16:08.985,0:16:11.983
no opportunity to pay attention[br]to this seed.

0:16:11.983,0:16:14.133
We can't blame them.

0:16:15.083,0:16:19.343
Life happened for me this way,[br]so I followed this path.

0:16:19.343,0:16:22.203
My genes, my upbringing,[br]my family, all of it.

0:16:22.203,0:16:26.303
I didn't even know the seed existed,[br]so I had no way to look for it.

0:16:26.303,0:16:29.213
Until life slapped me awake.

0:16:30.203,0:16:34.473
But some people are seeking it,[br]and seeking...

0:16:34.473,0:16:36.433
I, instead of...

0:16:38.243,0:16:41.463
instead of regret, sadness, and self-pity,

0:16:41.463,0:16:45.223
which is a habit incrusted in us,[br]and we all have to feel sorry for it.

0:16:45.223,0:16:47.813
From morning to night[br]and from night to morning

0:16:47.813,0:16:52.532
we blame everyone for everything[br]that has happened to us except ourselves.

0:16:52.532,0:16:55.755
Instead of why,[br]maybe the better question is:

0:16:57.852,0:17:01.562
How shall we get out of this situation?

0:17:02.442,0:17:05.581
What are the ways out of this problem?

0:17:05.581,0:17:09.111
The hardest steps are the first steps.

0:17:10.517,0:17:14.567
If we take them,[br]the universe will push us forward.

0:17:14.567,0:17:19.306
The universe is searching for those[br]who want to create change.

0:17:19.607,0:17:22.247
You can see this in your life.

0:17:22.247,0:17:26.037
This has nothing to do[br]with university or wealth.

0:17:26.037,0:17:29.761
This has everything to do[br]with a seeking mind.

0:17:30.137,0:17:33.527
A mind that does not surrender[br]to obstacles,

0:17:33.527,0:17:36.510
a mind that searches for a solution.

0:17:36.917,0:17:40.987
Once that has happened,[br]there is no stopping it.

0:17:40.987,0:17:46.502
You will see that you will also become[br]one of miracle workers of the world.

0:17:47.007,0:17:50.037
The only question[br]that we must ask today is:

0:17:50.046,0:17:51.876
What will be my miracle?

0:17:52.220,0:17:53.070
Thank you.

0:17:53.161,0:17:54.431
(Applause)