A seemingly healthy mother from Yorkshire who suddenly started speaking with an American accent was forced to give birth in a coma.
Becky Prout, 31, missed the special moment her daughter Maya was born and now struggles to recognise her baby due to the illness – an autoimmune disorder called anti-NMDAR encephalitis.
The hotel receptionist from Milton Keynes had just finished dinner at a restaurant with her partner Chad Maling, 30, on July 22 when she suddenly started speaking with an accent – even though she has never visited the United States.
The condition, believed to have been caused by a cyst on one of her ovaries, changed her personality and after five days she was suffering multiple major seizures, leaving Mr Maling fearing he would lose both his partner and unborn child.
For her safety, doctors decided to place Becky in a coma before carrying out a C-section with Ms Prout was unconscious throughout. She only woke up in a confused state a month later, and is now in recovery from her condition.
“All of a sudden, when she finished the meal – boom, she exploded into this American person,” said Mr Maling. “She just turned American – and she isn’t, she’s from Doncaster, but her accent and personality, everything changed.
“It was like she had taken on a whole different personality.”
Becky had recently returned from a holiday in Gran Canaria when she started feeling numbness in her arm— (PA)
He continued: “It was so, so scary to see, because let alone being unwell, she was 27 weeks pregnant. I think she definitely got the American accent from TikTok, because a couple of weeks before, she was on it constantly.”
The condition became apparent after the couple had returned from a holiday in Gran Canaria. And following the meal out where she spoke with an American accent, her partner noticed other things that weren’t right with her.
He witnessed Ms Prout sitting on the floor in the car park outside the restaurant, commenting on how nice the rocks were.
A month after giving birth doctors were finally able to wake Becky up— (PA)
She was rushed to Milton Keynes University Hospital on July 23, 2023 where she remained until being placed in a coma for her “own safety” before being transferred to a hospital in Oxfordshire.
It took doctors just three days to diagnose Ms Prout with anti-NMDAR encephalitis – a condition sometimes referred to as “fire on the brain” - before, a few weeks later in August, doctors decided to carry out a C-section as there were complications with Becky’s baby.
However, it was not until a month after giving birth that doctors were finally able to wake her up.
“She’s slightly improving, but nowhere near as fast as what the doctors would like her to improve,” Mr Maling said.
“I think yesterday (November 3, 2023) was probably the first day in a long time, I’ve actually had a conversation with her. She’s still very, very confused.
“One minute, she’s cuddling up to her (the baby) and I’m saying, ‘look at you being the best mum in the world’. And three, four minutes later, she says, ‘that’s not my baby’.”
While Ms Prout’s condition is improving, HER PARTNER said that her recovery could take up to five years.
Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is a condition that disrupts normal brain signalling, which can cause altered mental state, behavioural changes, agitation, abnormal movements, hallucinations, sleep disturbance and seizures, as well as speech changes, according to the NHS.
