Dr. Elvan Cevizci Akkılıç

My 82-year-old mother, who has advanced Parkinson's, was experiencing severe dyskinesia that made her life miserable. We'd seen several neurologists who just adjusted her levodopa with little improvement. Dr. Elvan approached it completely differently. She spent an hour just observing my mother's movements, then proposed a radical re-titration of her entire medication schedule, introducing a new extended-release formula at night. She explained the 'wearing-off' phenomenon in such simple terms. It wasn't an instant fix—it took six weeks of gradual adjustment—but now my mother can feed herself again and has started doing her crossword puzzles. Dr. Elvan's patience with elderly patients is extraordinary; she never rushes and always speaks directly to my mother, not just to me.

Our 7-year-old son started having these strange 'absence' episodes where he'd just stare blankly for 10-15 seconds. His school thought he was daydreaming, but we knew something was wrong. Dr. Elvan didn't jump to medication. First, she had us keep a detailed video diary for two weeks, then ordered a sleep-deprived EEG. When it showed classic childhood absence epilepsy patterns, she explained everything using cartoon brain diagrams she drew herself. She started him on ethosuximide at the lowest possible dose and scheduled weekly check-ins via the hospital's portal. What impressed us most was how she involved our son in his treatment—asking him to rate his 'brain sparkles' on a color chart. After three months, his EEG normalized. She turned a terrifying diagnosis into a manageable condition our whole family understands.

I was admitted through the ER at 3 AM with what I thought was a migraine, but the triage nurse noticed subtle facial asymmetry. Dr. Elvan was the on-call neurologist and arrived within 20 minutes. She performed the most detailed neurological exam I've ever experienced—checking for pronator drift I didn't even notice I had. Her suspicion of a brainstem TIA led to an immediate MRI which showed a tiny pontine infarct. Instead of just prescribing clopidogrel, she spent an hour investigating why a healthy 48-year-old would have this. She ordered a bubble echocardiogram that found a PFO. Within 72 hours, I was scheduled for closure. Her emergency management wasn't just about the immediate crisis; it was about preventing the next one. Her calm intensity in that ER room probably saved me from a major stroke.

As a professional violinist, developing focal dystonia in my left hand was career-ending. My fingers would cramp uncontrollably during performances. Previous neurologists had only offered botulinum toxin injections that left my hand weak and unresponsive. Dr. Elvan proposed a multimodal approach I'd never encountered: she combined very precise, ultrasound-guided botox injections (using just 1/3 the typical dose) with sensorimotor retraining therapy. She collaborated with a musician-specific physiotherapist and had me practice with a 'mirror box' technique. Most remarkably, she analyzed video of my playing to identify the exact passage that triggered the dystonia. After eight months, I performed my first full concerto again last week. She didn't just treat a neurological symptom; she understood it was intertwined with my life's work and crafted a rehabilitation plan accordingly.