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Girl Whose Memory Was Wiped After A Seizure Falls Back In Love With Boyfriend

Girl Whose Memory Was Wiped After A Seizure Falls Back In Love With Boyfriend

Jessica forgot her own family.

Josh Teal

Josh Teal

A teenage girl who had her entire memory wiped following a string of seizures has fallen back in love with her boyfriend, even after she'd called him a 'virtual stranger'.

Last March, 19-year-old Jessica Sharman suffered a fit so severe she had to re-meet her own family.

Jessica, from Tunbridge Wells, wad diagnosed with frontal lobe epilepsy in 2010.

Images: SWNS

On March 3, last year, she suffered a seizure on her morning tube commute. Her boyfriend Richard Bishop, 25, held her up before taking her to the office.

"I didn't know what was going on," Jessica said. "Momentary amnesia was normal for me after seizures. But an hour or so later I saw this woman running towards me I had no idea who she was.

"It was my mum, and I just stared at her blankly."

It took a series of family photos for Lisa Sharman, 49, and husband Gary, 56, to convince their daughter they were related.

Images: SWNS

Jessica said that because she had no idea what she looked like, it took her a while to agree to get in a car with her mum.

"Sensing my fear, mum put a reassuring hand on my knee, I shrugged her off. The gesture felt too intimate from a stranger."

Jessica's fits even left her not knowing her own name.

She says the first time she was left alone with her boyfriend Richard, she "hated it". He took her to their favourite park but she wouldn't walk next to him. When he attempted to hold her hand, she pulled away.

Her reserve was so bad that she even considered ending the relationship.

Images: SWNS

"He was devastated and adamant we could get back what we had.

"Seeing how passionate he was convinced me that he must care for me, so I agreed to date him, but made no promises."

Adjusting back to reality was difficult for Jessica but day-by-day she learned to understand the facts of the matter.

"I have recovered a life for myself with the help of my family and, of course, Rich.

"I feel so lucky that he knew me well enough to stand by me even when I thought of him as a stranger.

"He practically lives at my house now and our relationship is going from strength to strength."

Featured Image Credit: SWNS