Essay #1

I first read Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan for my AP Biology class in high school. I had to read the book for an examination, so instead of immersing myself in the pages, I was memorizing them. For this assignment, I wanted to reread the memoir. My goal was to approach the memoir the way I would a person’s life, instead of like a piece of study material. Upon reading it the second time I went through various emotions alongside Cahalan. The fear, the frustration, the final relief. 

Brain on Fire is the story of a sudden sickness that consumed Cahalan’s life. She was only 20 years old when she began experiencing hallucinations, paranoia, personality changes, and declined cognitive abilities. Countless doctors dismissed her symptoms as severe mental illness. As her symptoms continued to worsen her family continued looking for answers. Many hospitals rejected giving Cahalan neuological testing. All except the UC Medical Center. During this testing she was asked to draw a clock on a piece of paper. The resulting clock had all the numbers squeezed on the right-hand side, with the left side completely blank. This small task revealed that Cahalan had severe inflammation on the right hemisphere of her brain. It was eventually confirmed that she has anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, an autoimmune disease that attacks her brain. My biggest takeaway from this novel and diagnosis is that it is so important to respond to patients with empathy and receptiveness. As a nursing major I aspire to help restore the health of my future patients as well!

I think science and technology were very present in this book as they were utilized to run medical tests and create medical interventions to treat Cahalan’s condition. The antibiotics and infusions the medical team provided were able to alleviate the symptoms of her autoimmune disease. They added more time to her life’s clock. Instead of her life being cut short by her diagnosis, she was able to return to college and resumed a normal life. Restorative medicine is so interesting, and I hope to learn more about it as I continue on with my medical career.