Woman Forgets Whole Life After Nosebleed Triggers Rare Neurological Disorder

A woman forgot her whole life after a nosebleed triggered a rare neurological disorder. You can watch video footage of her relearning how to walk here:

Sophie Clayton, from Surrey, UK, has had to rebuild her life from scratch after a nosebleed in November last year flipped her world on its head.

The 26-year-old was getting ready for a night shift at the control room for the London Ambulance Service when everything changed.

She said: "I don't normally have nosebleeds, but I didn't think it was really anything to worry about. My nose had been bleeding for about 15 to 20 minutes and I was waiting in the kitchen with my mum for it to stop when blood suddenly started pouring out of my left eye.

"Mum sat me down on the kitchen floor and my left side went completely weak. She phoned for an ambulance as she thought I'd had a stroke, and I asked her for my phone so I could ring work and let them know I wouldn't be coming in.

SWNS

"Mum gave me my phone and I went to type my PIN in to unlock the screen and I just couldn't remember the numbers - my mind had gone blank.

"I was still trying to remember when the ambulance arrived a few minutes later and they asked me a few things like what the date was and I couldn't tell them. I couldn't even remember what my name was when they asked me - it was terrifying."

Sophie was rushed to St George's Hospital in London where she was taken for a CT scan and blood tests, with paramedics suspecting she'd had a stroke.

When the CT scan ruled it out, doctors feared Sophie had encephalitis - a rare but serious condition which causes inflammation of the brain. They immediately administered antivirals and antibiotics to combat the condition, but a lumbar puncture showed she didn't have it.

Medics eventually discovered she had functional neurological disorder (FND) - a condition whereby signals between the brain and nervous system are interrupted. In Sophie's case, there had been a small amount of pressure on her brain, and when the nosebleed released that pressure, it triggered her condition.

SWNS

Sophie said: "It was like my brain had been wiped clean, I couldn't remember anything, I had no idea who anybody was, and I didn't even know my name or how old I was.

"A man came into the hospital to see me and I said, 'I don't know who he is.' It turned out to be my dad.

"As mum had been with me all the time, I knew that I must know her but I didn't recognise that she was my mum."

Now, Sophie is getting her life back on track, with physios helping her to get her mobility back and Jonathan - her boyfriend of three years - working on filling in all the blanks.

Speaking to Real Fix, Sophie said: "I feel like I'm in the honeymoon period again, and he's definitely not so we're on polar opposites at the minute.

"I would say that I feel like I have been able to meet him all over again. It's a really lovely feeling."

Topics: Interesting, Community, Weird, Health

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey