Asst. Prof. MD. Tuba Baykal

After my paragliding accident in Kaş left me with a complex brachial plexus injury, three surgeons told me I'd never regain full arm function. Dr. Baykal approached my case like a forensic architect, mapping my neural pathways with EMG tests I'd never even heard of. She designed a rehabilitation protocol that combined mirror therapy with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, even coordinating with a local climbing gym for targeted grip exercises. Eight months later, I'm not just writing my name again, I'm tying fishing flies. Her clinic feels more like a research lab where you're the most important experiment.

My 4-year-old daughter Elif developed idiopathic toe-walking after a viral fever, and local doctors kept saying 'she'll grow out of it.' Dr. Baykal noticed subtle asymmetries in her pelvic alignment during what was supposed to be a simple consultation. She created a game-based rehabilitation program using animal walks and balance beams, turning exercises into a daily safari adventure. What stunned us was her collaboration with a pediatric orthotist to design custom silicone ankle sleeves that look like mermaid scales. Elif now calls them her 'magic fins' and proudly demonstrates her 'land-walking' skills. We traveled from Izmir specifically for her unconventional approach.

As a 72-year-old retired ceramics artist with advanced Parkinson's, my tremors had stolen the one thing that defined me: steady hands. Dr. Baykal's intervention began not with exercises but with observation, she spent an hour watching me attempt to center clay. Her solution was multidisciplinary alchemy: rhythmic auditory stimulation using Anatolian folk music tempos, thermal biofeedback gloves she adapted from gaming technology, and what she calls 'purposeful tremor integration' where we actually use the oscillations in clay texturing. She didn't eliminate my tremor; she helped me choreograph with it. Last month I sold three pieces at a local gallery, each with a note about 'collaborating with my nervous system.'

What began as routine post-mastectomy lymph edema management transformed into something extraordinary under Dr. Baykal's care. During my third session, she noticed a peculiar fasciculation pattern in my unaffected arm and ordered genetic testing no one had considered. The diagnosis: an early-stage motor neuron disease completely unrelated to my cancer. Her proactive detection allowed for interventions two years before symptoms typically manifest. Now my rehabilitation addresses both conditions through what she terms 'compensatory synergy training', exercises that manage lymphedema while building neural reserves. She treats the patient she has while vigilantly watching for the patient you might become.