A man who suffered a series of strokes aged just 25 lost his accent and started speaking like Siri - but could also sing Frank Sinatra perfectly. Mechanical fitter Dominick Nicholas had put his changing mood down to the stress of renovating a new house, but then in August woke to find his right side completely numb.
When he tried to speak he was repeating himself and slurring his words, reports The Echo. Girlfriend Laura realised he was having a stroke and called an ambulance. Doctors found an extremely rare tangle of poorly developed blood vessels which had been bursting and healing multiple times - causing mini-strokes in the part of Dominick's brain that regulated emotions.
Dominick said: “When the stroke happened, I thought I was going to die. I closed my eyes and blacked out, I have no memories of that time but I wasn’t unconscious. When I woke up a week later, I realized the right side of my body wouldn’t move, and I was on an intensive care ward.
“I couldn’t walk or talk at all. My friends and family were really shocked as I was so young, they didn’t expect it. When people think of strokes, they think of an elderly person. Even among young stroke survivors, there are people in their sixties who think they’re too young to have had a stroke.”
Dominick underwent nine hours of brain surgery and was diagnosed with non-fluent aphasia, meaning he struggled to produce words and sounds and retrieve language. But he realised he could sing Frank Sinatra's 'Fly me to the Moon' as a different part of the brain controls music and singing to the part which was damaged.
Dominick recovering in hospital - visible is the scar all the way along his skull from the AVM surgery (Image: The Brain Charity)
Dominick said: “When I realised I could sing, I hoped that meant I’d eventually be able to talk again. When I first started being able to talk again, I didn’t have a Merseyside accent any more. I sounded like a robot or Siri. It feels so weird when one day you just wake up with a different voice.
"I felt like I had lost part of my identity – but everyone else was just really pleased I was talking."
Dominick said: "It was a waste of time feeling sad about what happened." He has been working hard with a therapist at The Brain Charity to relearn how to pronounce his words. He's even managed to get his Merseyside accent back.
He said: "Aphasia isn't the end of your life. If someone you know has aphasia give them the time to talk. For me I just wanted to be treated the way I was before. It can be very easy to just be like 'this is it' and give up. I definitely experienced that when I was coming out of hospital, but working with The Brain Charity motivated me to keep going."
Nanette Mellor, CEO at The Brain Charity, said: “The emotional and mental health impact of aphasia can be huge. Feeling frustrated and literally voiceless in society is common.
"For many day-to-day activities, talking is how we communicate and if you can’t speak, simple tasks like going to a shop or Post Office or getting a bus can become very difficult. There is also the financial and economic impact – loss of employment is a massive factor, people who have experienced aphasia may feel they can no longer work, or face losing their jobs.
“Speech and language therapy (SALT) is vital to support people with aphasia, like Dominick, who we are so proud of for sharing his story and so glad we’ve been able to help. But sadly, across the board, community-based SALT has been completely stripped back.
“What we’re seeing now is that people are given SALT while they’re in hospital, but when they’re discharged they’re left to get on with things on their own, with little help. At The Brain Charity, we would love to be able to employ a full time speech and language therapist to support those who are most in need, as we have seen first-hand the hugely positive impact SALT can have on people with aphasia’s lives."
