A 28-year-old woman from the UK has lost a large part of her memory after being diagnosed with encephalitis, a serious disease that causes inflammation and swelling of the brain. Today, she faces daily difficulties, but says there is also a bright side; she can watch her favourite films as if they were brand new. Georgina Ann, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, started feeling unwell in August 2024. Initially she had dizziness and loss of appetite, but her condition quickly worsened. She was no longer able to stand or climb stairs.
Family members called an ambulance and on the way to the hospital, the 28-year-old suffered an epileptic seizure. Doctors diagnosed her with encephalitis, a condition that causes inflammation of the brain, and she was hospitalized for three weeks. Georgina says she was unconscious for most of her hospital stay. When she woke up, she had lost a significant amount of her memory.
She didn’t recognize the people around her until they introduced themselves. Even today, she has trouble remembering the names and faces of people she knows. “For the first two weeks I had absolutely no idea who anyone was,” she says. After leaving the hospital, Georgina says she couldn’t even remember the location of her bedroom or bathroom in her house.
“It’s like starting life over again, but in a very strange way, because it’s hard to do that in your own town, where everyone knows you and you don’t know them,” she says. Despite the difficulties, Georgina says she has also found a positive aspect in her memory loss. One of her favorite movies since childhood is “The Grinch.” She says that before her mother passed away, she bought her a pair of pajamas so she could enjoy the movie.
“To be able to see it again, as if I were a little girl, was magical. It brought back so many memories from my childhood. It’s literally like being seven years old again,” says Georgina. She says that even the Harry Potter movie, which she previously disliked, has now been viewed with a completely different perspective. “I saw the first movie and experienced it from a completely different perspective. It’s made me appreciate every aspect of life again,” she says. Her memory loss continues to cause her major problems. Georgina often doesn’t know who people she meets are until they smile at her, say hello, or tell her who they are.
“It’s like when friends ask you if you’ve seen a movie, but until you see a picture of the movie or the actor, you don’t know who they’re talking about. For me, this happens every day of the week,” she says. She says she sometimes meets people in the supermarket and discovers that they’ve had children without even knowing they were pregnant. “I feel like I’ve been in a coma for the last two years. I ask them whose children they’re babysitting and they tell me it’s their children,” she continues.
Memory problems also affect ordinary daily activities. Georgina has difficulty getting dressed, preparing food, or using household appliances, and has moved back in with her father for safety reasons. On one occasion, she forgot to turn on the oven while preparing dinner. After about half an hour, she had completely forgotten that she was cooking and ordered food. She also says that she often puts on clothes inside out or the wrong way around, fails to close the refrigerator properly, and has difficulty using the dryer. On another occasion, instead of putting milk in her coffee, she mistakenly put fruit syrup in her coffee.
Georgina cannot work and is not allowed to drive. She says that some days she has so much physical difficulty that she feels like she needs a wheelchair. “When they tell you that you can’t drive and that you can’t even remember your own name, it’s not easy at all. It’s like my life’s opportunities have been stolen,” she says.
In October she is expected to start cognitive rehabilitation therapy, in the hope that it will help her regain some of her lost memories. Now Georgina wants to raise awareness about encephalitis and urges those who experience similar symptoms to seek immediate medical help.