Jersey elite swimmer documents recovery after waking up from stroke paralysed and with French accent
ITV Channel's Lewis Andrews speaks to Jack about his accident and remarkable recovery
Former elite swimmer Jack Allan developed a French accent after a sudden stroke which left him paralysed and unable to talk.
The 21-year-old from Jersey suffered brain damage following a kick to the head during a mixed martial arts session last October.
He explains: "Some artery near the centre of my brain burst and they couldn't perform surgery. They just had to cross their fingers and hope."
Jack slowly started to recover and weeks later, when he managed to regain some speech, he woke up one day to find that he had developed a French accent.
Jack developed a rare condition called Foreign Accent Syndrome after his accident, showing the change in his voice through this video
Jack had Foreign Accent Syndrome, a rare condition that changes a person's speech patterns to make it sound as though they are speaking in a non-native way.
He needed speech therapy to relearn his original voice.
Before his accident, Jack represented Jersey at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, finishing fifth in the 4x100m medley relay, and also competed at the Island Games in Gotland and Gibraltar.
Jack now posts videos about his recovery on social media to motivate others
Jack is now using that determination he needed as a sportsman to focus on his rehab.
He explains: "As you said high achieving, hard working, that just translated to the recovery. I would say, 'why be negative, what's the point?'"
Jack now shares his physiotherapy and gym sessions online, hoping to inspire others going through a challenging time by documenting his own health journey.
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