Asst. Prof. MD. Hatice Gulhan Sozen

Our 8-year-old daughter Elif started having these strange episodes where she'd stare blankly for 30 seconds and couldn't hear us. Our local doctor said it was just daydreaming, but my grandmother recognized it from her own childhood. We traveled to Istanbul specifically for Dr. Hatice Gulhan Sozen. She spent an hour just observing Elif play, asked about family history we'd never thought relevant, and ordered a specific sleep-deprived EEG. The diagnosis was childhood absence epilepsy - something completely missed before. Her treatment plan involved a precise medication schedule around school hours. What amazed me was how she explained brain waves to Elif using a music analogy. Six months later, seizure-free and thriving in school. Dr. Sozen doesn't just treat conditions; she sees the whole child's future.

At 72, I never expected to be seeing a pediatric neurologist, but here I was with my 9-month-old grandson Kaan. He had infantile spasms - those terrifying jackknife motions every morning. The emergency referral brought us to Medical Park Goztepe at midnight. Dr. Sozen met us in the ER in scrubs, having come from another hospital. She immediately started ACTH therapy and explained this was a 'neurological emergency' with a narrow treatment window. She created a video log system where we recorded episodes for her daily review. Her directness was brutal but necessary: 'Every hour counts for his cognitive development.' After 2 weeks inpatient, the spasms stopped. Her follow-up protocol includes developmental assessments most neurologists overlook. She fights for babies who can't fight for themselves.

My 14-year-old son Deniz developed sudden, severe migraines with temporary vision loss after a minor soccer header. Multiple doctors dismissed it as stress or screen time. Dr. Sozen ordered a specialized MR venography others hadn't considered and discovered cerebral venous sinus thrombosis - a blood clot in his brain's drainage system. Her approach was uniquely collaborative; she brought in a hematologist and neurosurgeon for a joint consultation, explaining options to Deniz like he was a young adult. The 6-month anticoagulant treatment required meticulous monitoring she handled personally, even answering our 10 PM medication questions. She recognized this wasn't typical pediatric neurology and adapted immediately. Her ability to pivot from common conditions to rare complications saved my son from potential stroke.

We brought our 4-year-old nonverbal autistic son Arda for routine spasticity management, but Dr. Sozen noticed something others missed for years - subtle asymmetric hand movements suggesting a comorbid movement disorder. Instead of just refilling baclofen, she designed a novel communication system using his iPad to track discomfort levels he couldn't verbalize. She then discovered through genetic testing he had a dual diagnosis: autism spectrum disorder AND a rare dopa-responsive dystonia. The low-dose levodopa trial she initiated gave him his first pain-free months. Her clinic has sensory-friendly lighting she installed specifically for patients like Arda. She doesn't see 'just autism' or 'just cerebral palsy' - she looks for the hidden patterns in complex neurodevelopmental puzzles that others treat as separate pieces.