A British-Thai woman’s dream holiday turned to horror when she suffered a stroke in Turkey and woke up speaking with a Thai accent. Cathy Warren, 29, lost her British voice overnight and now sounds just like her Thai mother — a change she says has shattered her identity.
A young UK-Thai woman’s dream holiday in Turkey turned into a nightmare in 2024 when she suffered a sudden stroke. Celebrating her 28th birthday with friends, Cathy Warren collapsed and was soon paralysed. Doctors later confirmed the devastating diagnosis—but that was only the beginning. After relearning to walk, she faced an even stranger loss: her voice. Once a confident British woman, Cathy woke in hospital speaking with the Thai accent of her mother. This week, she told the media she is struggling deeply to cope with the loss of her former identity.
A British woman says her life has “changed forever” after she suffered a stroke while on holiday and woke up speaking with a Thai accent. This was in September 2024. Cathy Warren, now 29, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, was celebrating her 28th birthday with friends in the Turkish city of Fethiye when disaster struck. The trip was meant to be a relaxing girls’ holiday in the sun. Instead, it became a nightmare that left her fighting to walk, talk and even recognise her own voice.
Cathy had spent the afternoon sunbathing by the pool. She felt slightly dizzy but assumed it was from the heat. “I had a bad headache,” she said. “We thought it was just heat stroke.”
Later that evening, she and her friends dressed up and headed out for a birthday meal. However, as they walked to dinner, Cathy suddenly became unsteady on her feet. Then, without warning, her legs stopped working completely.
Friends thought she was drunk before doctors found she had suffered a stroke and lost the ability to move
At first, her friends thought she might have fainted from dehydration. But when she tried to stand, she couldn’t move. “We were walking to dinner and had just taken some pictures,” Cathy recalled. “Then everything went blurry, and I couldn’t walk another step.”
Her friends rushed to get help from hotel reception. Staff assumed she had been drinking and helped her back to her room. Yet Cathy’s condition rapidly worsened. When she tried to crawl to the bathroom, she realised something was terribly wrong. An on-site doctor was called, and she was taken to a local hospital.
Doctors ran emergency scans and quickly discovered the truth. Cathy had suffered a stroke, despite being only 28 years old. The left side of her body was paralysed. She was terrified and confused. “When I woke up, I couldn’t move my arm or leg,” she said. “Then I tried to speak, and my voice didn’t sound like mine.”
To her astonishment, her familiar Hampshire accent had vanished overnight. Instead, her speech now carried a distinct Thai accent. “I used to have a British voice,” Cathy explained. “But I woke up and my accent was different. My mum’s from Thailand, and I sound just like her now.”
Stroke left her paralysed and waking up with a Thai accent identical to that of her mother’s voice
She was diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome, an extremely rare speech disorder. According to the NHS, the condition occurs when damage to parts of the brain controlling speech causes changes in rhythm and pronunciation. These subtle changes make the voice sound like a foreign accent. Most cases happen after a stroke or other brain injury.
Over time, Cathy began to understand the enormity of what had happened. “Doctors think it’s because of my mum’s Thai accent and because it happened abroad,” she said. “They told me it’s really rare and that my old accent might never come back.”
Her hospital stay in Turkey lasted a month. Once doctors declared her fit to travel, she returned to the UK in October 2024. However, her ordeal was far from over. She spent two more months as an inpatient in hospital before moving to a rehabilitation centre. There, she faced the long process of learning to walk again.
“At first, I needed three people to help me walk,” she said. “It was only five minutes a day. Then I used a tripod, later a crutch, and finally I could walk on my own. It took ten months before I was fully independent again.”
Despite her progress, her speech has not returned to normal. “I’ve finished speech therapy, but my voice has stayed the same,” Cathy said. “I don’t think it’s ever going to change back.”
Months of therapy helped Cathy walk again but her British accent has not returned after her rare diagnosis
Experts say that Foreign Accent Syndrome remains one of neurology’s most mysterious conditions. Dr. Louise Carter, a consultant neurologist, explained that recovery is unpredictable. “When the brain’s language centres are damaged, new neural pathways form,” she said. “These pathways can alter pitch and rhythm in surprising ways. To listeners, it can sound like a completely new accent.”
There have been similar cases around the world. In London, 58-year-old Althia Bryden developed an Italian accent after a stroke, even though she had never been to Italy. Her doctors traced the cause to a carotid web in her neck, which triggered the stroke. After surgery, she woke up speaking differently and said she didn’t recognise her own voice.
Like Althia, Cathy says the experience is emotionally draining. “When I first heard myself speak, I didn’t recognise my voice,” she said. “It was like listening to a stranger. People ask where I’m from, and they don’t believe me when I say Hampshire.”
Despite everything, Cathy is determined to move forward. She has returned to her job as a financial administrator and continues daily exercises to strengthen her speech. “It’s been a long journey,” she said. “I had to learn to walk again and learn to speak again. I’ve had to accept a new version of myself.”
Emotional recovery continues as Cathy adapts to life with a new accent that few believe belongs to a Briton
Her family has supported her throughout. Her mother finds it surreal to hear her daughter speaking with a Thai accent. “Mum says it’s strange but kind of beautiful too,” Cathy shared. “She says it’s like hearing a piece of home in my voice.”
Doctors have told Cathy there’s a small chance her old accent could return, but they can’t promise anything. “The brain sometimes surprises us,” said Dr. Carter. “But recovery is rare.” For now, Cathy is focusing on the positives. “I’m grateful to be alive,” she said. “I still have my job, my friends, and my family. My voice may have changed, but I’m still me.”
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Even so, the impact of her condition remains profound. “It feels like I lost part of my identity,” Cathy admitted. “My voice used to be such a big part of who I was. Now, when I speak, it doesn’t sound like me. But I’m learning to accept that. Maybe this is just my new normal.”
Her story has drawn international attention to Foreign Accent Syndrome, a condition so rare that many doctors never encounter it. For Cathy Warren, the hope of hearing her old voice again lingers. But even if it never returns, she says she has learned a deeper lesson. “Life can change in a second,” she said. “You just have to find the strength to start again—even if you wake up sounding like someone else.”
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Further reading:
BBC gets a Red Light from viewers & fans of Thailand over the distorted docu-series aired last week
Sex tourism from the United Kingdom to Thailand spotlighted in BBC documentary series just aired
Pattaya punters preyed upon by transgender sex workers in a rash of hotel robberies while showering
Australian wheelchair user cheated by Thai woman he met on Pattaya’s beachfront on Thursday morning
Death sentences for the gruesome Pattaya murder of German property mogul Mr Ralter Mack in July 2023
