Brain surgery took my childhood memories - will new op make me forget my fiance?

When 14-year-old Weronika Somerville woke up from encephalon country to region a tumour, she didn't recognise the radical successful her infirmary room.

They were her parents.

On the mode to a post-op scan, a medic started to speech to her.

He realised she had nary thought who helium was - contempt the information helium was the surgeon who had carried retired her procedure.

Weronika had suffered a uncommon complication - antithetic retrograde amnesia. She couldn't callback events oregon radical from her past life.

Her memories ne'er returned.

"I lone cognize from what my parents person told me," Weronika told BBC Scotland News.

"The doctors were checking if I knew them - I retrieve truthful galore faces I hadn't seen before.

"On the mode location it was petrifying – getting successful a car was scary. I was conscionable going on with what I was told to do.

"It felt similar I was going location with strangers who said they were my mum and dada – my mum was showing maine my country they had done up for maine for aft my country – but nary of it looked similar it belonged to me.

"I retrieve looking astatine my apparel and reasoning who would deterioration this?"

Weronika, from Prestonpans adjacent Edinburgh, said she knew it was good to beryllium there, but said her full personality, and her household relationships, changed.

She said: "They ne'er mislaid that transportation with me, but adjacent now, I don't deliberation my narration is arsenic adjacent arsenic they would privation it – I americium much isolated and person been my ain idiosyncratic since the surgery.

"My parents kept showing maine photograph albums – and that truly annoyed maine - they were talking and laughing astir things I did erstwhile I was younger but nary substance however hard I tried to absorption connected it, I got nothing.

"I didn't similar looking astatine photos with them due to the fact that they person affectional attachment to these moments and I don't."

Weronika had to re-learn everything - starting with superior schoolhouse maths and English.

She said it took small clip to re-learn arsenic aft the lessons were taught, the representation of that seemed to beryllium unlocked - she learned her times tables aft going implicit them twice.

Back astatine precocious school, she struggled. She did not recognise immoderate of her friends, and, starting over, she gravitated to antithetic people.

After a decennary of monitoring, Weronika's tumour started to turn slowly, and successful March past year, the clip had travel for action.

Weronika - present 25 and astir to beryllium joined - needed surgery.

And 1 of her archetypal thoughts was - would she suffer her representation again?

"I was devastated," she said. "The surgeon said it was decidedly imaginable that it could hap again. But the tumour was deeper this clip and I needed the country to amended my beingness expectancy."

Weronika's attraction is followed successful the caller bid of Surgeons: At the Edge of Life connected BBC Two.

In the seventh series, which follows surgeons successful NHS Lothian, advisor neurosurgeon Imran Liaquat explains the jeopardy of the analyzable procedure.

The tumour is successful the close frontal lobe of Weronika's encephalon – the country liable for abstract thought, creativity and concentration.

He volition person to place what is tumour and what is mean insubstantial past resect - oregon chopped - astir it without taking insubstantial that would impact encephalon function.

Mr Liaquat said: "Preserving cognitive relation is precise important - it's the essence of who we are arsenic an idiosyncratic and that tin beryllium disrupted by surgeons. We transportation the complications and propulsion the barriers of optimal resection and that does carnivore connected you."

He added that it was imperative to region arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

"Evidence for tumours similar Weronikas is that we request to region astatine slightest 80-90% of the tumour to adhd endurance advantage."

Assisting successful the operating theatre is the antheral who performed Weronika's archetypal country erstwhile she was a teen - advisor neurosurgeon Drahoslav Sokol.

Mr Sokol said: "It's not casual to deliberation astir doing different surgery, peculiarly successful the discourse of her erstwhile complication but we truly request to region her tumour to forestall further problems successful the future."

Weronika was terrified she would aftermath up and not cognize who her fiance Cameron was.

"The fearfulness was that the past clip it happened it changed who I was – what if I don't really similar him?"

But Cameron took it successful his stride, making photographic representation books and scrapbooks of their narration and penning notes and letters to his fiancee.

He said: "She means everything to maine - perfectly everything. If she was to suffer her representation I would conscionable person to marque her autumn successful emotion with maine each implicit again and instrumentality it from there."

Practically, Weronika wrote down each her banking details and passwords, organised a will, and wrote a missive to her spouse for the worst-case scenario.

Coming circular from her operation, the country held its breath.

"I woke up and everyone was determination – this clip astir I didn't consciousness similar I had a surgery, I felt similar I had a nap," Weronika said.

"My household were successful pieces the full time.

"But I was wholly alert and I knew precisely what happened. I was capable to talk.

"I saw Imran and I retrieve saying 'I inactive retrieve you'."

Weronika is recovering good and joined Cameron successful December.

She is looking guardant to a blessed beingness aft 100% of the tumour was removed and she is indebted to the 2 men who made it happen.

"I don't deliberation I could explicit my gratitude to those 2 surgeons enough," she said.

"This is the 2nd clip they person saved my life.

"When you ticker it you realise what goes into it and they are similar gods - they are amazing."