Brain On Fire

I had just finished reading this memoir written by a young rookie reporter Susannah Cahalan. Cahalan was afflicted with anti-NMDA-receptor auto immune encephalitis. Long name for a disease in which, in simple words, the auto immune system, instead of protecting begins turning against the individual, attacking her brain causing tremendous havoc.

Cahalan is very lucky she and her family are within reach of the best possible medical professionals equipped with the latest knowledge in their fields. I am just wondering, how many people in Malaysia, suffer from this disease and no diagnosis is available, due to the fact many of the symptoms are similar to that of psychiatric illnesses. Many people would simply have concluded that it is demonic possessions rather than a real medical illness.

I took the synopsis below from the net as I feel a little anxious trying to rewrite Cahalan's terrible experience.

A gripping memoir and medical suspense story about a young New York Post reporter’s struggle with a rare and terrifying disease, opening a new window into the fascinating world of brain science.

One day, Susannah Cahalan woke up in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. Her medical records—from a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memory—showed psychosis, violence, and dangerous instability. Yet, only weeks earlier she had been a healthy, ambitious twenty-four year old, six months into her first serious relationship and a sparkling career as a cub reporter. 

Susannah’s astonishing memoir chronicles the swift path of her illness and the lucky, last-minute intervention led by one of the few doctors capable of saving her life. As weeks ticked by and Susannah moved inexplicably from violence to catatonia, $1 million worth of blood tests and brain scans revealed nothing. The exhausted doctors were ready to commit her to the psychiatric ward, in effect condemning her to a lifetime of institutions, or death, until Dr. Souhel Najjar—nicknamed Dr. House—joined her team. He asked Susannah to draw one simple sketch, which became key to diagnosing her with a newly discovered autoimmune disease in which her body was attacking her brain, an illness now thought to be the cause of “demonic possessions” throughout history. 

With sharp reporting drawn from hospital records, scientific research, and interviews with doctors and family, Brain on Fire is a crackling mystery and an unflinching, gripping personal story that marks the debut of an extraordinary writer.