Article updated 11th November 2010

Sadly, Ramazan lost his fight for life on 11th November 2010.  Our condolences go to his wife, Sevgi, and his two children.  Allah rahmet eylesin.

Original KTLN article follows: Registered members of Kalkan Turkish Local News will be familiar with our Day in the Life feature, where we give you an insight into the lives of (mostly) Turkish people, living in the area.

Here is a slightly different insight for you.  It's about local schoolteacher Ramazan Kayahan.

He suffers from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), and he urgently needs a life saving lung transplant operation.

Ramazan is 47 years old, and married to Sevgi, the mother of their two teenage children - one boy and one girl.

He has devoted 23 years of his life to teaching.  Originally from Muğla, he spent some time in the east of Turkey, in Kars, where he met Sevgi.  He has worked in this area since 1995, and at Kalkan First School since 2003.

Ramazan is someone who is respected by his peers, and countless children who have been in his classes, over the years.

Four years ago, for some unknown reason, his health deteriorated rapidly.  His asthma condition became much worse, and he developed IPF.  In laymens terms, this leads to hardening or scarring of the lungs, which results in Ramazan coughing, and becoming breathless if he does anything but rest.

It is a rare and debilitating illness.  Whilst Ramazan is technically still employed by the school, he has to work from home, because he would not be able to move around.  He works from a table in his home, in town.  

When KTLN met Ramazan, the short walk from his living room to the chairs outside his back door, left him coughing and catching his breath.  It was a humid day, which did not help matters.

There is no known treatment that will cure IPF, and Ramazan's only lifeline is a lung transplant.  Time is of the essence here, and an appointment has been made in June for him to travel to Vienna, in Austria, where he will undergo an evaluation as to his suitability for a transplant.

This treatment is being undertaken in conjunction with the Ankara University Medical Faculty.

These are worrying times for the family.  The prospect of major surgery is clearly a concern, as is the need to go to Austria for tests, to see if Ramazan is suitable for the operation.  They are also naturally concerned about how they will manage to pay for all this.

The Turkish government will pick up some, but not all of the cost of Ramazan's treatment.  And there are lots of incidentals that the state medical insurance will not pay for, including all costs for Sevgi to accompany her husband on any hospital trips, here in Turkey, or abroad.

They are a proud family and they do not like to be seen asking for help.  But their future is uncertain right now, both in terms of Ramazan's health, and their finances.  We wish Ramazan well, and will report further on his progress, next month.

The KTLN Trust is making a donation to help Ramazan.