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Aussie Woman Wakes Up With Irish Accent After Massive Migraine

Aussie Woman Wakes Up With Irish Accent After Massive Migraine

It's not the first time her accent has changed from her native tongue.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

There are people out there that can do really good accents. Whether they can sport a brilliant New York tongue or pretend like they're a local from Johannesburg, it's pretty impressive to see them get into character.

But that's always a voluntary gag and the person will go back into their normal accent straight after.

Imagine waking up one morning and realising that every word you speak sounds like you're from Ireland, even though you've lived in Australia all your life.

That's what Kate Baggs, from Melbourne, Australia has gone through after experiencing a pretty horrific migraine.

The 30-year-old suffers hemiplegic migraines, an extreme type that causes symptoms similar to a stroke, including paralysis on the left side, inability to talk or walk, and the strangest of all...foreign accent syndrome.

The embroidery artist's most recent episode has left her with an Irish accent, and it's stuck with her for the past week.

It began soon after a particularly brutal migraine, with Kate explaining: "I was at the shop buying a toothbrush and I started the sentence sounding like the Australian me and by the end of the sentence I realised something was odd.

"My godmother thought I was making a joke, mimicking something from a movie we were talking about.

"It's been Irish ever since and it doesn't show any signs of going away anytime soon.

Caters

"I had no control over it but I thought 'that sounds really funny.'

"It's constant, it's not an accent I've been exposed to, I don't have interactions with anyone with an Irish accent."

The Aussie first had an episode in 2015, where she got a migraine so bad she had to learn how to talk again. But when she did, her accent had turned Canadian.

"The first time I had a stroke-like migraine, it took me two months to learn how to speak again and when I did speak, I had a Canadian accent," Kate explains.

"It only lasted a couple of months, it faded quite quickly and went back to my Australian accent.

Caters

"The most the doctors can understand is that the migraines are probably happening at the speech and language centre of my brain."

She's had to release a video to her mates to explain why every time they call their friend Kate a random Irish woman is on the other end.

Kate has been through several MRIs and scans over the years, which have shown there is no damage on her brain. Currently, she is taking preventive medication to stop the episodes.

Although they all find it hilarious, Kate says she has the support of her family, including her husband of 10 years, David.

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: Community, Weird, Australia