I was in my third year of dermatology when I received a scholarship from the International Society of Dsrmatology (ISD) to attend the Department of Dermatology in Florence, Italy. The invitation letter was sent to me by Professor Torello Lotti and I eagerly went to Tehran to visit the Italian Embassy. At that time, people put their names on the entrance of the embassy to determine their turn, and everyone had to gather behind the embassy for hours and even sleep there at night to be among the first people on the next day.
So, with many difficulties and waiting in the back of the embassy, I was able to get a visa for Italy and travel. Professor Lotti instructed two of his residents to provide for my needs so that I would not have any problems when I arrived. My flight was direct to Milan and then by train to Florence. I arrived in Florence on Friday evening and called Professor Lotti for accommodation but his phone was off. I called the residents but they were not available. It was on weekend and everywhere just closed, so I had to go to a hotel. I called someone in the dermatology department, but no one was available. The next day I was walking in Florence and wondering why everybody’s phone is off? I accidentally asked a passerby who looked to be a student, “Do you know anyone named Professor Lotti in Florence?” He said yes. He was well-known, I said: “I was invited to come here as a student for a while. Do you know where can I find them?” He responded: “Don’t you read the newspapers?” I said no, I do not know Italian.
He said Professor Lotti and five dermatologists were arrested, I said really? He said that because of a series of accusations from insurance companies, Professor Lotti is now under house arrest. More’s the pity.I went to the department but nobody cared about me. They told me to return home, the whole department was messed up and it would not be solved any time soon. I, who had worked so hard to win that scholarship, was never willing to do so. I no longer had a dormitory or the financial aid that was to be paid to me by the international dermatology community. On the other hand, I was a student and I did not have much money so I could not stay in the hotel for many days. I was desperate and lost, I was looking for a cheap house to rent. I asked the hotel manager for help and he said that I know an Iranian carpet seller in Florence named Mr. Jafari. Go to him, maybe he can help.
I got the address, went to the shop, introduced myself and told him what happened to me. Then I asked him to help me find a cheap room.
I will not forget that Mr. Jafari wanted to take me to his house, but I did not accept, so he called his friends and hardly found a cheap room for me. Ten Euros a day (three hundred Euros a month) which was fair enough.
To sum up, I spent twenty days in Florence, distraught and desperate, and every single day I disappointedly went to the dermatology department to be accepted, but unfortunately, there was nothing new. I emailed Mrs. Janet Harga, in charge of the dermatology department of Czech which then held the president position of Europe Dermatology Academy, and told her my story. She accepted me and said that she has another Iranian resident there and if the circumstances in Italy are not going well, it is not a problem to travel to the Czech Republic and do my career there.
Twenty days later, fortunately, Professor Loti was acquitted and returned to the ward, where I began my training.
It is a great pleasure for me to remember those memories even with the hardships and disappointments, and I am glad that I persevered and did not lose my hope, and many thanks to God, everything finally just became ordinary.
Now Dr Amir Feily is one of the best dermatologust in Iran and even in the world and nowadays increasingly getting famous for his fantastic results of hair transplantations and lasers of melasma and and scars. You can see his results in his official instagram page.
Now Dr Amir Feily is one of the best dermatologust in Iran and even in the world and nowadays increasingly getting famous for his fantastic results of hair transplantations and lasers of melasma and and scars. You can see his results in his official instagram page.