A British woman who developed an Italian accent — despite never visiting the country — has told how she feels she has ‘lost [her] identity’.
Althia Bryden, 58, fears her new distinctive accent is stuck after suffering a stroke in May that left her unable to feel the upper right side of her body.
After rushing to hospital, doctors diagnosed the retired customer service advisor with aphasia, when someone has difficulty with their language or speech and she later underwent surgery in August to remove the blockage to her brain.
But when she woke from this, she discovered she had a new accent, which medics suggested was the extraordinarily rare condition foreign accent syndrome (FAS).
The mother-of-two, from Highbury in north London, says she now slips Italian words and mannerisms including ‘mamma mia’ and ‘si’ into conversation without even realising.
It means she is just one of a handful of people to have ever experienced the speech disorder, which usually occurs as a complication from a stroke or head injury.
Recalling her ordeal, she said: ‘Even my laugh is not the same. I’m not me, it’s like someone is impersonating me.
‘I feel like a clown with an upside-down smile that people are watching perform.
Althia Bryden, 58, fears her new distinctive accent is stuck after suffering a stroke in May that left her unable to feel the upper right side of her body
After rushing to hospital, doctors diagnosed the retired customer service advisor with aphasia, when someone has difficulty with their language or speech and she underwent surgery in August to remove the blockage to her brain
‘They are laughing, but I still have an upside-down smile. It’s very sad — everything is different, even my body language is different.
‘People aren’t meeting the original me, I don’t know who I am.’
On May 4, Mrs Bryden’s husband Winston, 63, found her unresponsive in bed and her face visibly drooping on the right side.
After immediately calling for an ambulance she was rushed to hospital where she discovered she had also lost the ability to speak.
Doctors pinpointed the cause of her stroke as a carotid web — a rare shelf-like structure in the neck that can interrupt blood flow to the brain.
‘The only thing I could do was point,’ Mrs Bryden said.
‘Doctors gave me a notepad, then I realised I couldn’t write because I’m right-handed and if someone wrote something down, I could not read it.
‘My brain couldn’t understand it — it was very frightening for me and I felt afraid and confused.
On May 4, Mrs Bryden’s husband Winston, 63, found her unresponsive in bed and her face visibly drooping on the right side
Doctors pinpointed the cause of her stroke as a carotid web — a rare shelf-like structure in the neck that can interrupt blood flow to the brain
‘I felt like a shell of the person I once was. I was so alone and isolated, and I remember feeling just totally lost.’
She spent nine days in hospital before being discharged and returned to hospital for surgery to remove the carotid web in August.
Following the operation, a nurse woke her to take her blood pressure and Mrs Bryden responded without thinking, she claimed.
‘Completely out of the blue, I just started speaking,’ she said. ‘[The nurse] looked as shocked as I did.
‘I remember thinking, “Who is that talking?”. I couldn’t believe it was me talking, but I also didn’t recognise the sound of my voice.
‘The nurse rushed to get colleagues round to my bed. No one could believe I was talking after so long.
‘But the more I spoke, the more confused we all became.
‘They asked me if I had an Italian accent before my stroke and were telling me I had a strong accent.
Following the operation, a nurse woke her to take her blood pressure and Mrs Bryden responded without thinking, she claimed
While strokes are the most common cause of FAS it can also occur following trauma to the brain, bleeding in the brain or a brain tumour
‘Doctors and nurses saw me as a bit of a medical marvel — none of the nurses, doctors, therapists or surgeons had dealt with FAS in their whole careers.
‘This is when I realised just how rare this condition is. I wish more people knew about it.’
She is currently awaiting a formal diagnosis.
While strokes are the most common cause of FAS it can also occur following trauma to the brain, bleeding in the brain or a brain tumour.
Other causes reported in medical journals include multiple sclerosis and conversion disorder, when someone experiences temporary physical symptoms, such as blindness or paralysis.
Cases have been documented around the world, including people changing their accent from pure Japanese to Japanese with a Korean accent and British English to English with a French accent.
But in some cases no clear cause has been identified.
FAS, which is still poorly understood, can also last months or years, it can sometimes even be permanent.
‘Before, I didn’t sound like the Queen, but I sounded British,’ Mrs Bryden said.
‘I’ve always lived in London, but all my family are from Jamaica.’
When visiting her in hospital, one of Mrs Bryden’s sons couldn’t help but laugh and was forced to leave the room to compose himself, she said.
She can even hear the accent in her thoughts. whenever she utters an unfamiliar word, Mrs Bryden and her husband have to search for its meaning to understand it.
‘I have no idea I’m about to do it – my brain just converts the English word into Italian,’ she said.
‘It always takes me and Winston by complete surprise. I’ll randomly say things like “mamma mia” or “bambino”.
‘The first time I did it, I was talking to my brother-in-law, and I said “si” as he was talking.
While she says she feels ‘lucky to be alive’ after suffering the stroke, she does wake up each morning hoping the accent has vanished.
She also says she finds it difficult to introduce herself to new people as she has to explain her situation, often leaving them confused.
‘I’m still looking for the person I was before,’ Mrs Bryden added. ‘Where do I go to find the button to switch this stuff off?’
She has since sought help from a speech and language therapist and the Stroke Association, attending support groups. The charity has also arranged home visits from a coordinator for her.
‘They’re a listening ear for me,’ she said. ‘It made me realise having FAS is part of my story, and I shouldn’t be ashamed.’
‘I want to meet someone with it, and be able to relate to someone and have that connection.’
Juliet Bouverie OBE, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said: ‘Every day in the UK over 240 people wake up to the catastrophic impact of a stroke, which can leave survivors unable to move, see, speak, or even swallow.
‘It’s a traumatic, life-changing event that robs survivors and their families of the life they knew.
‘Recovery for a stroke survivor is a hard slog of gruelling and repetitive therapy.
‘But with strength, determination and the right support, recovery is possible.
‘We support stroke survivors and their families to find the strength they need to find their way back to life.’