When this man woke up, nobody understood why he was speaking an entirely different language

Our bodies never fail to amaze us. There’s so much that they’re capable of, and they can do the most incredible things even when they’ve been hurt. While they’re not indestructible by any means, and they can succumb to a variety of illnesses, they’re also able to repair themselves in some astonishing ways. Just look at what happened to Rory Curtis.

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It takes time

Learning a new skill doesn’t typically happen overnight. You usually have to put in hours of work to get the hang of something, and even more to become an expert. It can take days, weeks, or even months to really excel at a skill, by which point you may have grown bored of it.

For this man, he woke up a few days later with a new skill in their arsenal. It was something that baffled everyone around him and no one could quite believe how it was possible, even with the proof right in front of them.

Loving his life

Of course, for something like this to happen, you first have to put yourself in a pretty serious situation. If someone had asked Rory Curtis in 2012 if he was willing to risk his life to develop a new skill, he’d probably have said no.

After all, things were going really great for him at the time, and he didn’t want anything to mess that up. Curtis was a feature on English football club, Manchester United’s youth team, and the prospect of going pro was within reach. Curtis dreamed of being a sports star on the pitch, but then everything changed.

Caught in a incident

In August 2012 the young man was involved in a road incident. He’d been driving home from practice when the incident happened. It had been raining pretty heavily, and he hadn’t been able to see where he was going.

That’s how he ended up colliding with a truck. To make matters worse, other cars started piling into the back of him, damaging his vehicle beyond repair. Of course, the state of the car wasn’t the issue here. Rory needed help from the emergency services and he needed it fast.

From one place to another

Firefighters were quick to the scene, although they were less hasty when it came to moving Curtis. There were many things that they had to deal with.

Surprisingly, Rory looked perfectly fine, given the severity of the incident. His cosmetic injuries were minimal, although the damage that had been done to him internally was another matter entirely.

Deep sleep

Although Curtis appeared to be okay, doctors were deeply concerned when they ran some tests on the young man. They discovered that his brain wasn’t acting as it normally would.

Desperate to stabilize this, the medical staff induced Rory into a deep sleep. They couldn’t be sure that it would work, but it was the best chance he had to encourage recovery throughout his body. All they could do now was wait. Of course, little did the doctors know that Curtis was developing a brand new skill.

An agonizing wait

When Rory’s family were informed of the man’s condition, they weren’t sure what to think. The doctors warned them that his recovery could take time, but that they couldn’t give them specific details about how long.

They were told it could be in a few weeks or depending on the progress, it could even be longer. Of course, Rory went and defied expectations by waking up six days later.

Not thinking properly

Despite what you might see on TV and in films, waking up under these circumstances is not a quick process. It can take quite a while for a patient to come around, and they’re usually very confused when it happens.

Rory was certainly all over the place when he was roused from his week-long slumber. Apparently, he thought he was a six-year-old when he first opened his eyes, although things only got weirder from there.

Welcome to France

What was truly strange about Rory was his ability to suddenly speak French! Even though the boy was English, he was now speaking the language as though he’d spent his whole life in France.

It was quite spectacular, particularly because he was also talking with an accent too. Did this mean that Curtis could no longer speak English, or was his new language skill just a temporary thing?

Someone to talk to

When Rory first started conversing in French, the medical staff didn’t realize that anything was wrong. As far as they knew, Curtis was from France, or at the very least educated in the language. They simply carried out their duties as normal, not that many of them could understand what the man was saying.

Thankfully, one of the nurses knew the language well, so she was able to ask him how he felt after the incident.

Unsure of its origins

It was only once Rory’s parents arrived that the staff realized that his ability to speak French was unusual. The man’s mom and dad asked which side of their family was French, a question which understandably puzzled the couple.

They revealed that neither of them had roots in France, so they had no idea where their son’s new language skills had come from. It was a mystery to everyone involved.

It’s been a while

Although Rory had learned some French in school, it had been quite a while since he’d tried speaking the language. He’d last studied it when he was in 8th grade, and he hadn’t been the strongest student in his class.

At the first opportunity, he’d dropped the language in favor of other subjects, but clearly what he’d learned was still in there somewhere. Otherwise, how else would he have been able to speak so fluently?

Confusion all around

It wasn’t just the man’s parents who were stunned at how well he was speaking French. Rory was just as surprised, especially because he didn’t remember being quite so fluent before. He didn’t understand why he was suddenly so talented with the foreign language, especially as he knew he wasn’t French.

Thankfully, the doctors soon worked out where his new skill had come from, and they assured Rory that it was nothing to worry about.

Foreign Language Syndrome

Medical staff concluded that the patient had Foreign Language Syndrome. It’s not a very common condition, but it is one that can affect patients who suffer an injury as Rory did. Essentially, what happens is that the brain tries to use any undamaged information it finds to repair itself.

In Curtis’ case, this was the French he’d learned in the past. It wasn’t affected by the incident, so his brain clung to it.

Mistaken identity

As if waking up speaking a new language wasn’t bizarre enough, Rory also had another surprise when he woke up. It seems the man had gotten confused and believed that he was someone completely different. Of course, Curtis didn’t think he was just any old dude – he thought he was Matthew McConaughey.

That’s right; his injury had led him to the belief that he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

Ready to leave

When the man glanced in the bathroom mirror, he was confused about why the movie star wasn’t staring back at him. His reflection looked nothing like the Hollywood actor, yet he couldn’t shake the belief that he and McConaughey were one and the same.

Rory was so sure about his identity that he kept wondering when he’d be discharged so he could return to filming. Unfortunately, as his parents kept telling him, he wasn’t actually Matthew McConaughey.

Coming to his senses

Luckily, the realization set in soon enough. As his brain repaired itself, he remembered that he wasn’t the A-list actor and was actually a twenty-something amateur soccer player. At least, that’s who he was. Following the incident, the likelihood of Rory following his sporting aspirations seemed all but gone.

The doctors had no idea when the man would be able to start kicking a ball around. Of course, they hoped it would happen in the near future rather than too far away.

An experimental treatment

In an effort to try and nurse Rory back to health sooner rather than later, he received specialized experimental treatment. Only one other person in Britain had received such treatment before, so it was uncertain how effective it would be for the patient.

Nevertheless, he went ahead with it and hoped for the best. It was apparently developed using expertise from the Ministry of Defence, so he was quietly optimistic about its chances.

Time to Leave

A few months after Rory started his treatment, he recorded a noticeable improvement in his health. He was considered fit enough to leave and return home, although he wasn’t out of the woods yet. He still had a long road ahead of him with rehab, but this was a step in the right direction.

Thankfully, things only continued to improve for the patient. Before long, he was walking around like the incident never happened.

He’s still got it

With his mind functioning normally again, Rory no longer got confused about how old he was or whether he was a movie star. However, one thing that didn’t disappear was his new language skill. Although most people tend to forget their new language skills once they’ve recovered, Curtis was apparently the odd one out.

He still knew how to speak like a Frenchman – accent, and everything – even though his body had pretty much mended itself.

Forever grateful

In many ways, Rory’s recovery was miraculous. That’s why the man is so complimentary towards the treatment he received. He’s confident that it’s the reason he was able to return to normality so quickly.

If it wasn’t for the National Institute for Health Research’s Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre, he might not have been back on his feet quite so soon. Then, he wouldn’t have been able to launch into his brand new career.

Changing careers

With soccer seemingly off the table, Rory turned his attention to something altogether different – hairdressing. It’s nothing like kicking a ball around on a pitch, but it still brings the man a lot of satisfaction. That’s why he made the wild statement that he’s actually grateful for the incident.

Cutting people’s hair gives him so much purpose, especially now that he’s the owner of his own salon. As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters.

A new lease of life

There’s no doubt that the incident changed his outlook on life. The man has become more open about his feelings, and he never forgets to tell people he loves them. He knows that life is short, so he doesn’t want to waste a moment of it.

However, although the incident landed him with a brand new skill, it doesn’t seem that Rory gets much use out of it. We suppose it’s not that handy when you’re cutting hair.

Enjoy it while it lasts

While Rory’s French skills may not stay with him forever, we expect the time he’s spent with them has still been beneficial. After all, given how hard it is to learn a language, it must be pretty great to wake up speaking a new one all of a sudden.

Sure, acquiring this skill wasn’t particularly pleasant, but at least the outcome has been nothing but positive. He even got a new job out of it!