John
05-04-2009, 12:52 PM
A Yorkshireman woke up a new man after a brain operation - and with a strong Irish accent.
Chris Gregory, 30, sat up in his hospital bed and sang a stirring rendition of Danny Boy to astonished fiancee Mary, 36.
Mr Gregory, who is Sheffield born and bred, had spent three days on a life-support machine before he came round.
For the next half-hour, he amazed relatives with his broad Gaelic lilt. But by the next day his own Yorkshire accent was back.
The now Mrs Gregory said: "I couldn't believe it when I walked on to the ward and heard someone singing Danny Boy really loud. It sounded like a drunken Irishman, and all the racket seemed to coming from the direction of Chris's bed.
"I thought to myself: "It can't possibly be him." But when I pulled back the curtains Chris was sitting up in bed belting out the tune with all the right words and the thick Irish accent like he'd grown up in Dublin and lived there all his life."
Mr Gregory had the emergency surgery at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital in December 2007 after a blood vessel ruptured in his brain.
Mr Gregory, who is now back at work, said: "I just don't remember a thing about it - I wish I'd been able to listen to it all, but I don't have any recollection of what happened when I came round.
"I've told Mary that she should have videoed me. At least then I could have sat back and watched myself singing Danny Boy."
Specialists have linked the phenomenon to a condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome - which can affect the control of the lips, tongue and vocal cords in extremely rare neurological cases.
Chris Gregory, 30, sat up in his hospital bed and sang a stirring rendition of Danny Boy to astonished fiancee Mary, 36.
Mr Gregory, who is Sheffield born and bred, had spent three days on a life-support machine before he came round.
For the next half-hour, he amazed relatives with his broad Gaelic lilt. But by the next day his own Yorkshire accent was back.
The now Mrs Gregory said: "I couldn't believe it when I walked on to the ward and heard someone singing Danny Boy really loud. It sounded like a drunken Irishman, and all the racket seemed to coming from the direction of Chris's bed.
"I thought to myself: "It can't possibly be him." But when I pulled back the curtains Chris was sitting up in bed belting out the tune with all the right words and the thick Irish accent like he'd grown up in Dublin and lived there all his life."
Mr Gregory had the emergency surgery at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital in December 2007 after a blood vessel ruptured in his brain.
Mr Gregory, who is now back at work, said: "I just don't remember a thing about it - I wish I'd been able to listen to it all, but I don't have any recollection of what happened when I came round.
"I've told Mary that she should have videoed me. At least then I could have sat back and watched myself singing Danny Boy."
Specialists have linked the phenomenon to a condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome - which can affect the control of the lips, tongue and vocal cords in extremely rare neurological cases.