LIST OF REASONS

In May, 58-year-old Althia Bryden from Highbury, north London, experienced a life-altering event. She was found unresponsive in her bed with the right side of her face drooping. Upon being rushed to the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with a stroke that left her unable to speak and without sensation in the upper-right side of her body. The underlying cause was identified as a carotid web, a rare neck abnormality disrupting blood flow to the brain. In August, surgeons successfully removed the carotid web. Remarkably, the day after her surgery, while recovering in intensive care, Althia began speaking again. This unexpected recovery stunned the medical staff. "Completely out of the blue, I just started speaking," she recalled. However, this miraculous return to speech came with a surprising twist—she now spoke with a distinct Italian accent, despite never having visited Italy or spoken Italian before. This dramatic change in her voice puzzled doctors and nurses, who asked if sh...