M.D. Zeynep Ece Demirbaş

My 82-year-old father, Ahmet, was admitted to Acibadem Kartal with severe dehydration and confusion after a heatwave. Dr. Demirbaş didn't just treat the numbers on his chart—she sat with him, speaking slowly in Turkish, holding his hand when he was frightened. She noticed a slight tremor others had missed and ordered specific tests that revealed a thyroid issue complicating his recovery. Her coordination with the cardiology team was seamless. She visited him twice daily, even on Sunday, explaining each step to our family with hand-drawn diagrams. She restored not just his fluids, but his dignity. We call her 'meleğimiz'—our angel.

As a 30-year-old expat with unexplained chronic fatigue and joint pain, I'd seen five doctors across two countries. Dr. Demirbaş was my last resort. In her office, she conducted a 45-minute systemic review I'd never experienced, connecting dots between my childhood tonsillectomy, a recent camping trip, and a skin rash I'd dismissed. She ordered a very specific panel for autoimmune and tick-borne diseases, suspecting something niche. Her diagnosis of Lyme disease with autoimmune crossover was correct. Her treatment plan was rigorous but compassionate, with weekly check-ins via the hospital portal. She didn't just find the needle in the haystack; she showed me the haystack I didn't know existed.

Our 7-year-old daughter, Elif, developed a high fever and a mysterious abdominal pain that local clinics dismissed as 'a virus.' We rushed to Acibadem Kartal's ER at midnight. Dr. Demirbaş, who was on call, had a calm intensity. She examined Elif with such gentleness, earning her trust by showing her the stethoscope light. While others focused on appendicitis, Dr. Demirbaş questioned the pattern of pain and a faint rash. She suspected Henoch-Schönlein purpura, a rare vascular inflammation in children, and admitted her for observation. She was right. Her ability to pivot from common to rare diagnoses in a frightened child, while making her laugh with cartoon bandages, was a masterclass in holistic internal medicine.

I'm a 45-year-old chef who needed a routine executive health check before a work visa. I expected a quick in-and-out. Dr. Demirbaş reviewed my lifestyle with forensic detail—my long hours, irregular meals, and family history. During the physical, she palpated my abdomen and paused, asking about bloating. I'd normalized it. She insisted on a fecal occult blood test and a colonoscopy referral, over my objections about my age. They found and removed three precancerous polyps. She didn't just check boxes; she listened to the silence between my answers. She turned a bureaucratic necessity into a life-saving intervention with a persistence that felt, in retrospect, like a fierce kind of care.