Everything Seemed Fine
The year was 2009 and Susannah Cahalan, a journalist for the New York Post, was over the moon with her new job.
Years of hard work had finally paid off, and she was even enjoying the stability of a serious relationship after several years. Everything seemed to be under control...
Life Is Unpredictable
But fate can hit you in the most unexpected way at any moment. In fact, one can feel that everything is going well: an active social life, a healthy diet, a promising career opportunity... and bam.
Out of the blue, life hits us with a huge blow and that security is replaced by uncertainty, stress, and even fear.
The First Symptoms Appear
This was exactly what happened to Susannah: her present couldn't have been better, her future looked bright... until one day she suddenly began to feel some disturbing sensations in her body.
She assumed bedbugs were causing those bizarre itches, so she immediately hired the best exterminator she could find.
Things Get Worse
Usually, when somebody has a rash or an uncomfortable itch, the best thing is to just wait until it goes away on its own.
But Susannah's random sensations throughout her body never ceased: she woke up every day hoping that they would be finally gone, but they only got worse.
Desperate For A Solution
Susannah was hoping the bug exterminator would find something, as the young journalist was clearly desperate to find a rational explanation; an obvious cause that she and her boyfriend hadn't thought about yet...
But unfortunately the exterminator didn't find anything, and that's when she decided to go to the hospital.
The Paranoia Settles In
Indeed, when Susannah's symptom started to grow and become more unsettling, she had no other choice but to make an appointment with a doctor at the New York University Hospital.
She told the doctor about her recent symptoms: paranoia and unnerving hallucinations were making her life impossible.
Unable To Work
Many days had already passed since the talented journalist had told her new boss at the New York Post that she was currently unable to work for an indefinite period of time.
Risking a dream job that you have been pursuing for years is obviously a bummer for anyone, but recovering from her mysterious ailment was the number one priority.
Hospital Admission
Cahalan eventually had to be admitted into the hospital because, as time passed, sudden bursts of violent behavior began to take over her personality, which led her to become a worrying danger to her boyfriend and parents.
Doctors were trying their best to come up with an answer, and they were about to fail completely until the man that you see in the picture came to save the day.
The Doctors Are Lost
That's right, several specialists that had been dealing with numerous complicated patients at the New York University Hospital were feeling lost.
So many severe symptoms kept appearing and mixing with each other that agreeing on an accurate diagnosis was far from being an easy task in this case.
Can She Survive?
Meanwhile, the patient's health was rapidly going downhill, and this was obviously affecting her emotional state. Susannah was down in the dumps after days of suffering and uncertainty, and her family didn't buy the doctors' final conclusion.
They affirmed that this crisis had been caused by a simple mental breakdown. However, a neurologist showed up and asked an unusual thing: he wanted her to draw a clock.
Dr. Najjal's Brilliant Idea
This crucial event occurred hours before the moment when Susannah was supposed to be sent to a psychiatric facility.
Had Dr. Souhel Najjar not come up with his curious idea, she would've probably stayed forever at the psychiatric facility as a permanent patient, due to the misdiagnosis.
His Hunch Was Correct
Dr. Souhel Najjar's suspicions proved to be accurate: he believed that Susannah's cognitive capacities were starting to get affected by her mysterious condition.
Though he wasn't sure about the diagnosis, his intuition told him that a mental breakdown couldn't be the answer. When she drew the clock like this, with all the numbers on the right side, his hypotheses were confirmed!
Drawings Can Say A Lot
Indeed, drawings of particular objects can provide psychologists and psychiatrists with indicators of utmost importance regarding a person's possible cognitive disorder.
In fact, most of the tests that are applied to kids to check neurological and psychological problems ask them to draw things.
The Final Diagnosis
As you might've guessed already, the way she drew the clock proved that an unusual type of brain damage had occurred.
This crucial evidence let the doctors reevaluate the diagnosis and reach the correct conclusion: Susannah suffered a recently-discovered condition called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
Najjar The Savior
Less than 300 people in the world had been diagnosed with that condition at the moment. If it's not detected in time, it can be lethal for the patient, since it makes your antibodies charge against the brain, causing severe damage to it.
If Dr. Souhel Najjar hadn't gotten involved before Susannah was transferred to another facility, she probably wouldn't have survived.
Brain On Fire
Yes, it turns out the other doctors were merely scratching the surface of the real issue! With the correct diagnosis, Susannah was saved and back on her feet after 4 weeks, thanks to an efficient treatment that involved immunoglobulin infusions.
She then accepted the challenge of writing a book called Brain On Fire, where she narrates her experience.
A Brave Woman
It takes a lot of courage to write about such a painful thing, don't you agree?
Just imagine going through that and having to make an effort to remember the feelings of hopelessness and despair that must come with perceiving that your body is attacking your brain.
Her Story Becomes Famous
But Susannah felt that recounting her story could shed some light on a problem that's often overlooked: many patients are left to their luck for years in a psychiatric hospital due to an inaccurate diagnosis that seals their destiny and causes more trouble.
Her story turned to be so inspiring and popular and Brain On Fire was later adapted to a movie!
The Great Pretender
Nowadays Susannah Cahalan also offers public talks where she discusses her month of agony and how she was miraculously saved by Dr. Soujel Najjar. In 2019, she released her second book, called The Great Pretender.
Here, the journalist and writer reflects on the influential experiment of David Rosenhan, a psychologist that gathered 8 healthy volunteers that went to a hospital alleging symptoms of paranoia or hallucinations.
Eternally Grateful
These volunteers were all admitted into the psychiatric facilities, and the staff never doubted the schizophrenia diagnosis that they were given.
Susannah's life changed drastically after that excruciating month, and she now focuses her research on these topics, since she's well aware that not everyone is as lucky as her.