Bekir Kemal Ataman's Involvement in Medicine

Being a long time FMF* patient I had acquired quite a bit of medical knowledge in the time I have spent in hospitals as a child and teenager, till the medical world could discover a cure.

Part of this knowledge came from the articles I had translated, during my stays in hospitals, for the doctors doing their specialization training in various fields.

This accumulation of medical knowledge came into light in the least expected of situations: After the earthquake in August 1999 I found myself sorting pharmaceuticals, in a field hospital, that came flooding by way of medical aid from all around the world.

Once the disaster was left behind, me and my wife at the time took the first opportunity to get proper training as emergency medical technicians.

For some time after that, I got involved with the FMF-TR groupÑa group of Turkish rheumatologists researching in FMFÑas the only patient, in setting up a database of FMF patients in Turkey, that could be accessed over the Internet (but closed to anyone outside the group) for data input and research purposes.

* FMF = Familial Mediterranean Fever; A hereditary genetic disease seen in people of Mediterranean origin.