On multiple emergency department visits, she had elevated creatine kinase levels in her blood, which is a marker of muscle breakdown.

In Angel’s case, notable symptoms included muscle pain, aches and fatigue that developed after exercise.

The fact that the details of Angel’s symptoms were compiled into one organized story so that I could mull over it for a long period of time (instead of studying for class) undeniably played a big part as well.Ĭan you give a general overview of Angel’s condition? What makes this different from my experiences in the hospital is that it can often become overwhelming to learn from bits and pieces of information, from different people and places, and then come up with the important questions to ask a patient as well as a game plan for their hospital stay. This New York Times article happened to be published when I was still in my preclinical years so rarer diseases were not long forgotten. To be quite honest, I think luck played a big part in me guessing correctly. So, I guess you can say it was luck and chance that that title happened to catch my eye! The end of the article encouraged readers of all backgrounds and experiences to give their input on what Angel’s diagnosis could possibly be. It was a thorough retelling of her medical history that, to my surprise, even included her medical records. I opened the article and it told the story of Angel and her undiagnosed condition. I happened to scroll past a New York Times article where the caption caught my eye. It was another routine night of studying, with randomly scheduled mental breaks where I would either pause to browse my social media feed or watch another 20 minutes of “The Great British Baking Show.” Season 1 of 'Diagnosis' aired on Netflix in August. Sanders’ column is the basis for a new Netflix documentary series, and Fung is featured in the first episode.įung spoke with VCU News about the show, her studies, and correctly identifying the mystery in Sanders’ column. Fung, a third-year medical student in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, submitted the correct diagnosis for the column she read. The column, written by Lisa Sanders, M.D., tells a patient’s story and crowdsources diagnoses from readers. Lilian Fung was taking a break from studying when she came across a column in The New York Times Magazine called “Diagnosis” that described hard-to-solve medical mysteries.

Diagnosis the new york times