The "mystery" illnesses informed by culture

[Eldorado]

In late 2017, media reports began to appear about a real-life 9-year-old Sleeping Beauty. Sophie, an asylum seeker who lived in a small Swedish town, had slipped into something resembling a coma for more than a year. Though medical tests suggested she was healthy, she scarcely ever stirred beneath her pink blanket. A clear feeding tube snaked from her nose since she never awakened even to eat.

While her condition wasn't novel — others refugees had reported similar symptoms prior — Sophie's mysterious stasis helped launch neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan on a book-length reporting journey. She had already spent years seeing patients with symptoms and disabilities, from convulsions to leaden limbs, for which no clear biological cause could be found.

Full article at The Salon