A British woman who went to sleep with a migraine woke up feeling like a completely different person.
Thirty-eight-year-old Sarah Colwill was rushed to the hospital in 2010 because of severe episodic migraines. During her recovery, she woke up with a Chinese accent. (Via The Huffington Post)
“She literally woke up, opened her mouth, and it was not her voice that came out.”
"Fifty-five, sweet and sour chicken Hong Kong-style … It's just been such a horrible thing to go through." (Via BBC)
She was diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome — a rare, neurological condition with no clear cause.
The Inquisitr reports others who have suffered from the same change in voice had severe migraines.
Only 61 cases have been identified since 1941. One explanation for the new tongue is that her migraines, which she experiences as many as 10 times or more per month, are leaving her with neurological damage. (Via Daily Mail)
The condition usually follows traumatic brain injury or a stroke. Those with FAS also experience loss of vocabulary. But Colwill is not alone in her struggle.
Fifty-two-year-old Kay Russell, pictured here talking to Colwill, woke up with a French accent after suffering a migraine as well. (Via International Business Times)
And singer George Michael says he woke up from a coma with a temporary West Country accent in 2012. (Via CBS)
Some cases have been known to clear up over time. Colwill says she is still looking for a cure, but for now, voice therapy is the only treatment available.
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