Mahmoud Rashidi knows first hand the impact the power of positive thinking can have.
As a medical student at the University of Toronto, Rashidi was having some difficulty hearing out of his left ear and an MRI was scheduled to see what could be causing the issue. After exiting the MRI machine, the technician told Rashidi that he thought something was in there.
It was Rashidi who read the MRI and determined there was in fact a noncancerous tumor on the main nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain known as acoustic neuroma. He called the surgeon he was working with during his residency and found himself in the very same operating room he worked in – albeit this time as a patient – for an 18-hour surgery. That was just before Christmas in 1996.
There were some difficulties after surgery. His mouth and throat began to swell so much the day after that a tracheostomy had to be performed. He had a spinal fluid leak on the left side of his nose that led to bacterial meningitis and a second surgery to correct the leak.
“I almost died,” Rashidi said. Things had gotten so bad, doctors were trying to find the contact information for his parents back in Iran.
But it was his positive thinking that Rashidi believes helped him recover. Two weeks later he rode his bike for his rounds at the hospital and outside of limited hearing in his left ear and a facial weakness on his left side, Rashidi has never let his ordeal get in the way of his dreams.
“During the process, I was so hopeful that never fear came to me,” he said. “I never thought that I would not recover. There was no option for me except heal.”
It was back in Iran at the age of five that Rashidi first expressed an interest in helping people by becoming a doctor. He was a child who couldn’t learn enough. He always had his nose in a book, with an unquenchable thirst for more knowledge. He was fascinated with how the brain works and had a joint interest in one day performing operations made neurosurgery “the things that combined it the closest.”
Rashidi was the top student at Kerman University of Medical Sciences and earned the second highest medical scores in Iran.
He dreamed of going to Harvard, but landing a pediatric neurosurgery residency at the University of Toronto sent him to Canada instead. After recovering from his own trip to the operating room, Rashidi finished his residency in Toronto, and spent time in both Louisiana and California as a practicing neurosurgeon. And Rashidi saw it all – from brain tumors and strokes to traumas and car accidents.
Rashidi remembers one patient in Toronto that came in with a brain aneurysm near the base of the skull.
“You don’t have access so that was a very challenging case,” Rashidi said. Even after all these years he can still visualize the surgery.
In California, a young patient came in with bleeding on the right side of the brain due to an arteriovenous malformation, an abnormal connection between arteries and veins. It was 11 at night, but Rashidi was able to get the blood clot out successfully to save the patient’s life.
“When I talk to people I feel what they go through,” he said.
But it was a case of another individual that got Rashidi thinking about a new career path. There was this man in California who came in for his second brain surgery after being hit by a car. He was an alcoholic and was down and out. But Rashidi began talking to him about the power of positive thinking.
“If you want to change, you can change,” Rashidi remembers telling his patient. A few months later he saw the same man, who had stopped drinking and got his life back on track.
“That’s when I became interested in the thoughts,” Rashidi said. “The mind is so fascinating.”
He looked back at his whole ordeal and realized how important his thoughts played a part in his recovery.
“I used all these things without knowing,” Rashidi said.
Rashidi has seen first hand how an imperfect life can lead to damaging thoughts. But he wants people to know something.
“How much people can have a happier life even with a struggle,” he said. “There’s no need for everything to be perfect to be happy.”
In 2014, Rashidi founded Mind Medicine and wrote a book under the same title, released in July 2018, where he offers ways to use your thinking as a way to heal.
“Your thoughts are going to be more important than anything,” Rashidi said. “I want to help people, help them feel better.”
He explores how thoughts can change the structure of your brain and in turn change aspects of your life.
“It can effect your health and healing,” he said. “People really can have a better life if they learn how to use their thoughts. If people want to change, they need to change their thoughts.”
On Thursday, March 12, Rashidi will be at the George H. Bixby Memorial Library in Francestown from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to discuss his book, “Mind Medicine: Use Your Thoughts to Heal” and discuss his work. RSVP by emailing francestownlibrary@gmail.com or calling 547-2730.
Rashidi moved to Francestown in June with his wife Heidi, and children Jahan and Leila, both students at Great Brook School.
For the time being, Rashidi has put his surgery days on hold to focus on his company. He offers consulting work and hosts weekly talks around the state to help medical professional better understand his findings. He will host talks in Nashua on March 6, 13 and 27 and April 16 at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene.
“If you want to be the best at it, you need to focus on it,” Rashidi said.
He does miss being in the operating room because there is nothing like having someone’s life in your hands.
“For me you feel so privileged, especially some of the cases where they are so critical,” Rashidi said. “The difference between someone staying alive can be a matter of seconds.”
Rashidi’s family still lives in Iran. He goes back every three to six months to visit. He grew up in a time before Iran was known for what is portrayed in the media, something Rashidi doesn’t see of his native land.
“Some of what you’re hearing in the US about Iran, it’s not real,” he said.
He finds it difficult to see the news and what is said about the country he has fond memories of, growing up in a small village. He’d rather see a different approach.
“I want people to love each other and be at peace,” Rashidi said.
One of his favorite places to be is in the library. Books have always been a big part of his life and Rashidi sees the important presence they can have.
“They can change people’s lives,” he said.
On the walls of his home office, Rashidi has pictures and inspirational quotes from the likes of Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney and Steve Jobs. They serve as a reminder to be persistent and strive to achieve your dreams. In turn, they provide positive thoughts – something Rashidi has seen the benefits of first hand.