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Jessica Sharman, 20, had been riding the commuter train from Tunbridge Wells, Kent to London, with her boyfriend, Rich Bishop, when it happened. The usual workday suddenly turned into the day that ended up changing her life forever.
Sharman suddenly began to seize up, suffering not just one, but several seizures in a row. She’d had epilepsy ever since she was 14, but never had an incident serious enough to prompt her to seek medical attention or advice.
When she woke up on the train from her seizure though, Sharman admitted, “I was terrified. I had no idea who anyone was. Everyone was a stranger to me. I didn’t even know my own name.”
Later, at the hospital, doctors diagnosed Sharman with amnesia caused by the epileptic seizure.
“I remember boarding the train that day in March, but that’s it. I’ve been told my body went limp and my eyes glazed over. But we had nearly arrived in London and Rich was able to support me until we got to the station, then walk me to our office and call my parents while he looked after me,” Sharman remembered.
“I now recall seeing a woman running towards me but I had no idea who she was. She was hugging me and asking if I was OK but I just stared back at her blankly. She kept saying she was my mom.”
Sharman’s parents, Lisa and Gary, were stunned that their daughter had suddenly forgotten who they were. Lisa even went as far whipping out her phone to find her daughter photos in hopes of jogging her memory.
But all of it was to no avail.
Sharman didn’t even have a clue as to what she looked like. “I had no idea what I looked like. I found a mirror and looked at my reflection but it was like I was looking at a stranger. I did match the person in the photos, though, so agreed to go home with my parents.”
Back at home, Sharman also didn’t recognize her house or her room. Everything was foreign to her.
The following day, Sharman’s parents took her to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London for help.
There, the doctors could only report that Sharman had experienced amnesia from her epilepsy and it could take up to six months for her memories to return – if they did at all.
That was when Rich Bishop tried to come back into the picture.
At the time of Sharman’s seizures, the two had been dating for about seven months, all of which Sharman had quickly forgotten. “I remember at one point I was left on my own with him and hated it. I didn’t know him but he was acting like we were in love,” she said of his attempts to resume their relationship.
“So two weeks later, I tried to end the relationship,” she continued. “He looked so hurt and promised he would help me remember how great we were together. Seeing how passionate and caring he was finally convinced me he must care for me, so I agreed to give it a shot.”
Over time, Bishop has begun taking Sharman back to all the parks they used to frequent and dine at all their favorite restaurants, in hopes of getting his relationship with his girlfriend back.
Although Sharman’s memories still haven’t returned, she said, “I don’t remember the first time I fell in love with Rich but I do remember the second. “He was so patient with me, so sweet, I couldn’t help but fall for him.”
Now, Sharman has resumed work – at a call center, not her usual job – and she’s working on reintroducing and refamiliarizing herself with all of her friends, all of whom are struggling to come to terms with her memory loss.
Sharman’s recovery has been tough, particularly as doctors have told her that she might lose all her memory again, but of one thing she’s certain: her relationship with Rich. “But Rich was able to make me fall in love with him twice — so I know he could do it again.”
