A 26-year-old woman has fallen in love again after a nosebleed triggered a rare condition that caused her to forget her entire life.
Sophie Clayton, 26, from Surrey, suffers from functional neurological disorder (FND), but the condition was not triggered until she suffered a nosebleed in 2019, causing the signals between her brain and her central nervous system to be interrupted.
Minutes after the nosebleed, she had forgotten her pin number, the date, and eventually her name. This meant that as she recovered, she had no memory of her boyfriend Jonathan Wilson, 26. So, just like in the Adam Sandler movie 50 First Dates, he went on a mission to make her remember their relationship.
Sophie forgot how to do many simple day-to-day tasks, and was even forced to relearn how to walk:Sophie, who worked as an emergency resource dispatcher prior to the incident, said: "My friends have said that our relationship is just like 50 First Dates and I can definitely see the resemblance!
"When everything happened, I felt shocked, confused and sad knowing I had forgotten everything and especially not knowing why.
"My condition is quite rare so they are still doing research into it and it's really frustrating that they can't tell me why this happened or what caused it."
Sophie explained that while it is frustrating having lost so many memories, she is enjoying making new ones, especially with Johnathan.
She said: "I feel so upset that I've lost 26 years of memories that made me the person I am, but I'm looking forward to recreating new ones with everyone I love.
"I'm falling back in love with Jonathan all over again which is so lovely. Although I am sad that I have forgotten all these things that I've done before, it is quite special getting to see things for the first time with Jonathan.
"Just the other day, he took me to see the beach for the 'first' time - it was amazing."
Unfortunately, it's not known whether any of Sophie's memories prior to the nosebleed will ever return.
She said: "Doctors can't say if my memory will ever come back, so for now it's like my life started three months ago, but I'm just focusing on making new memories rather than pining for the old ones."
Recounting the incident, Sophie said: "I don't normally have nosebleeds, but I didn't think it was anything to worry about.
"My nose had been bleeding for about 15 to 20 minutes and I was waiting in the kitchen with my mom for it to stop when blood suddenly started pouring out of my left eye.
"Mom 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."
It was then that the devastating effect on Sophie's memory became apparent.
She recalled: "Mom 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 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 Mom had been with me all the time, I knew that I must know her but I didn't recognize that she was my mom.
"Jonathan was the last person I had texted, so I think I knew I had a boyfriend but not who he was exactly - I just kept asking my mom if she'd told "that man" what had happened.
"When he arrived at the ward and my mom introduced us, I instantly started crying because I was so desperate to remember him but I couldn't.
"Jonathan told me that he loved me and I said that I loved him too, and then he held my hand whilst my dad explained everything the doctors had said so far."
Sophie explained that in a bid to help her remember, just like Adam Sandler's character in 50 First Dates, her boyfriend when above and beyond to piece together the pieces of their past relationship.
She explained: "The past 26 years of my life had just disappeared from my memory. I had no recollection of who I was before waking up in the hospital.
"I was in a room full of strangers including myself and it was absolutely terrifying.
"He and my friends have made books of photos from our times together - I don't remember being in the photos but it is nice to get a feel of what my life was like before.
"Jonathan has driven me around London to see all the sights that we had been to together previously and shown me all of the landmarks I had forgotten.
"He took me to the Bath Christmas Market where we had one of our first-ever dates and even back to Kew Gardens where he had first asked me to be his girlfriend."
However, it's not just Sophie's relationship and life that was wiped from her memory, she also forgot how to do everyday tasks including how to walk because of FND. Now, she is hoping to spread awareness about the rare condition.
"I'm learning to walk again and I'd love to go back to work one day and return to running, but even just to walk on the beach rather than sit in my wheelchair would be incredible," she explained.
"My speech has been affected and I have had to learn small things again like how to write, hold my knife and fork and even how to brush my hair.
"Sometimes I feel like I don't actually have the condition but then I soon come to the realization that it's happened - I have to come to terms with it and hopefully try and help others who are in the same position."
If you'd like to find out more information about Sophie's condition, you can do so here.
We'd like to take this opportunity to wish Sophie all the best in her continued recovery.
