PLYMOUTH, England, April 21 (UPI) -- A British woman who suffers from migraines with stroke-like symptoms says a recent attack has left her speaking in a permanent "Chinese accent."
Sarah Colwill, 35, of Devonshire, said a migraine attack last month altered her West Country accent to resemble the voice of a Chinese woman, The Mirror reported Wednesday.
"When I had my attack last month an ambulance crew told me that I sounded Chinese," she said. "Since then I've had friends hang up on me as they think I'm a hoax caller. I speak in a much higher tone, my voice is all squeaky. I'm having speech therapy but don't know if the Chinese accent will ever go away."
Colwill was diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome, a condition caused by damage to the part of the brain controlling speech. There have only been about 60 confirmed cases of the condition since the 1940s.
