Souhel Najjar: Souhel Najjar: The Syrian Neurologist whose Story Became an American Drama Film

This book/movie made me think about whether the Syrian media did this doctor any justice, or whether it did other Syrian individuals with incredible success stories justice. Regardless, we know for a fact that Syrians leave a mark anywhere they go. Brain on Fire, an award-winning memoir, turned into a major motion picture about a woman’s struggle to recapture her identity and a Syrian-American doctor who was able to diagnose her.

Susannah Cahalan tells her astonishing story about her descent into madness. From waking up alone in a hospital room, being strapped onto the bed, with no memory of how or why she is there, to suffering from seizures, hallucinations, paranoia, and more without doctors being able to diagnose her for a month. Her symptoms baffled everyone who met her, and everyone was starting to lose hope, up until she was seen by Dr. Souhel Najjar.

Dr. Najjar was able to diagnose Cahalan by simply asking her to draw a clock on a piece of paper. She drew all numbers on the right side of the clock, and Dr. Najjar was able to determine that the right side of her brain had become inflamed, which occurred because of an auto-immune disease called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. He turned to her parents and said, ‘Her brain is on fire… I’m going to do everything I can for you”.

This Syrian American doctor was the only person who decided to view Susannah as a human being and treat her as a whole, rather than just treating her symptoms. He never gave up on her case and was determined to save her life. We don’t see many doctors with such personalities anymore. Many don’t see past the symptoms that they are treating. There are several patients who get misdiagnosed and are misplaced in psychiatric hospitals instead. That year, Dr. Najjar was designated as one of the best US neurologists in the US. This is an incredible success story that we should be aware of.