Until his retirement, Irakli worked as a neurologist in a hospital in the valley. Only then did he return to the mountains in Tusheti and become a mountain doctor. Since then, he and Bitschola have saved 51 lives. In winter, when the shepherds move down into the valley with their sheep, there are hardly any people left in Tusheti. But even the few who remain need a doctor. Irakli perseveres and is there for them. "Sometimes I envy the wolves," he says. "They run in pairs. And I'm alone here in the snow." But as long as the 81-year-old can still mount his horse, he will continue to do so.

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