Wednesday, December 13, 2006

English Woman Undergoes My Worst Nightmare

The following is excerpted from This is London, by way of Free Republic.
Louise Clarke is only one of 200 people in the world to develop Susac's Syndrome

She lives in Bristol and works in Bath. But Louise Clarke became convinced she was French.

A rare brain disorder left the 30-year-old recruitment consultant believing she was living in Paris.

She started speaking French all the time, rang her friends to invite them to stay in the French capital - and asked to eat croissants.

She was also plagued by migraines and hallucinations and ended up so confused that her worried family took her to hospital.

After months of tests, she became one of only 200 people in the world to be diagnosed with Susac's Syndrome.

The disorder is thought to be brought on by stress and affects the brain, ears and eyes, mainly among young women. In Miss Clarke's case, it appears to have brought back memories from when she was living in France four years ago and confused them with the present.

"It might sound funny to others, but suddenly thinking you are French is terrifying," she said.

Rumor has it that she cannot meet anyone new without attempting to surrender.

I couldn’t find the original article (please send me the link if you come across it). However, if this is true, that last line has got to be the quote of the week. “Suddenly thinking you are French is terrifying!” It would certainly cause me to wake up screaming in the dark hours of the night.