Brain On Fire Book Report

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness is an autobiography by Susannah Cahalan documenting her month-long stay in a hospital, where later she had no memory of being. Before her hospital visit, Susannah found two red bumps on her arm, but being in New York City, she assumed that they were bedbugs. She became obsessed with the idea that her apartment was infested, but an exterminator confirmed that she didn’t have them. Next, Susannah began to have aching pains in her body, along with nausea and migraines. She became very paranoid and anxious, so she went to the doctor, who told her that she probably had mononucleosis. The next night, Susannah went out with her boyfriend, Stephen, and his sister and her boyfriend. Susannah barely remembered the night. Susannah couldn’t focus on her job at the New York Post: during an interview, she was hyper, laughed inappropriately, and failed to ask any pertinent questions because she couldn’t gather her
Werner Doyle performed a brain biopsy on Susannah. The results confirmed the expected inflammation of her brain. They knew that she had an autoimmune disease, but they didn’t know what kind. In the meantime, they could begin treatment with intravenous steroids. A Dr. Dalmau was given her spinal fluid samples to test for Anti-NMDA-receptor autoimmune encephalitis. Dr. Dalmau had discovered this disease by studying four women with similar symptoms, including a high white blood cell count, delusions, memory problems, and teratomas in their ovaries. They also had similar antibodies targeting specific areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus. Susannah’s results came back positive, but thankfully, she did not have any teratomas. Because of the aggressive plan of IVIG treatments, steroids, and plasmapheresis, Susannah was discharged from the hospital after twenty-eight days. The doctors weren’t sure if Susannah would ever be completely herself again, but with checkups, therapy, and the treatments, they were