WAKING up in hospital, Georgia Lee felt groggy, with no idea how she’d ended up there.
While her dad, Gary was by her , she had no idea who the man sitting to her left was.
Georgia Lee woke up in hospital age 22, believeing that she was 17
She had been struck down with encephalitis, a dangerous inflammation of the brain, that had wiped five years of her memories
She had no memory of her long-term boyfriend Laurence Calvert, pictured when they met during Freshers week
But he wasn’t a nurse or a but rather her long-term boyfriend Laurence Calvert.
Just three weeks earlier, the then 22-year-old uni student had been struck down with , a dangerous inflammation of the brain.
The rare condition was caused by a cold sore in her throat, before the spread to her brain.
But while Georgia survived against all odds, she had lost five years of her memory believing that she was 17 and studying for her
Not only did she have no recollection of Laurence but she also had no memory of her uni degree, or passing her
Over the following months, she got to know Laurence, eventually going on a
Slowly, she fell in love all over again.
Now Georgia, who has never regained those memories, is speaking out to raise awareness of the .
The 29-year-old, from , explains: “I woke up thinking I was still 17.
“It was so shocking to learn that I was actually 22, had a boyfriend and had just finished .
“It was upsetting to lose that much time of my life and special milestones.”
In August 2018, Georgia was experiencing headaches and for two weeks she had pain in the same spot of her forehead.
She remembers: “It was constant and I couldn’t shift it- even with painkillers and rest.”
Then, one night, while her boyfriend of two years, Laurence, was at a festival, she sent him a message.
But not making sense, he called her dad to check on her.
She says: “Dad told me that I was in my bedroom acting delusional.
“So he called an ambulance and I was rushed to hospital.”
At Milton Keynes Hospital, doctors suspected Georgia had meningitis.
Georgia pictured on her graduation day in January 2019, despite her having no memory of her Animal Science and Business studies
Laurence and Georgia eventually went on a ‘first date’ and rekindled their relationship
In June 2023, Laurence proposed on holiday in Greece
But after suffering a seizure, further tests revealed she had encephalitis.
Georgia was given drugs to reduce the swelling on her brain.
The next thing she remembers was coming around in hospital after nearly a month.
Her dad was there along with Laurence but, to her, he was a complete stranger.
When he announced he was her boyfriend, Georgia was shocked.
She says: “I had no recollection of even meeting him and genuinely thought I was still in sixth form.
“To know that someone else knew everything about me, and I knew nothing about them was really hard.”
Over the next few months, Georgia got to know Laurence again.
He showed her pictures of their time together and recalled how they’d met at Fresher’s week.
She explains: “He told me we’d met at a club during the first week of uni and that during a song, I’d ran my hands through his curly hair.
“It was a funny story and made me laugh.”
In November that year, Laurence took her on a ‘first date’ for dinner at a pub nearby her house.
Georgia explains: “We were both a bit nervous to begin with.
“But he told me more stories of our time together, and showed me holiday pictures of trip to Greece and told me about his family.
“It was a lovely first date.”
In January 2019, she attended her graduation ceremony at Canterbury Christ Church University for the Animal Science and Business degree she’d completed.
Yet she found herself greeting people she didn’t remember.
She says: “It was a strange day, with many people coming up to me saying ‘hello’ and me having to pretend I knew them.
“It was pretty draining.
“Then having to go up on stage and collect my certificate when I didn’t remember learning any of it.”
In time, Georgia and Laurence shared their ‘first kiss’ and she began falling in love with him all over again.
She says: “Laurence was so respectful and took things slowly.
“I appreciate how hard it must’ve been for him to be starting over again.
“He told me later that he was nervous I wouldn’t find him attractive and that it wouldn’t work out.
“Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.”
Eventually, Georgia learnt to drive again after originally passing her test at 18.
Seven years on, Georgia’s memory has never fully returned.
Along with the memory loss, Georgia, now a care assistant at a vets, lost her sense of taste and smell – neither of which have recovered.
She says: ”I have no sense of smell at all. I can taste really spicy and sweet food but that’s about it.
What is encephalitis?
Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition where the brain becomes inflamed.
It can be life threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.
Anyone can be affected, but very young or very old people are most at risk.
Encephalitis usually starts off with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache.
More serious symptoms come on over hours, days or weeks, including:
- Confusion or disorientation
- Seizures or fits
- Changes in personality and behaviour
- Difficulty speaking
- Weakness or loss of movement in some parts of the body
- Loss of consciousness
Dial 999 for an ambulance immediately if you or someone else has these serious symptoms.
It’s not always clear what causes encephalitis, but it can be caused by:
- Viral infections – very rarely, encephalitis may be caused by the common viruses that causes cold sores (herpes simplex) or chickenpox (herpes varicella) spreading to the brain
- A problem with the immune system, the body’s defence against infection – sometimes something goes wrong with the immune system and it mistakenly attacks the brain, causing it to become inflamed
- Bacterial or fungal infections – these are much rarer causes of encephalitis than viral infections
Some types of encephalitis are spread by mosquitoes, ticks (such as tick-borne encephalitis) and mammals (such as rabies).
Source: NHS
“When I can’t taste something, I cover everything in either hot sauce, tomato ketchup or sweet chilli sauce to strengthen the flavour.
“Essentially I eat to survive now and rely on my step mum to buy me perfume.”
In June 2023, Laurence proposed on holiday in Greece which he captured on video.
Now Georgia documents everything to keep her memories alive.
She explains: “I have dozens of scrapbooks and pictures.
“I’m meticulous at documenting my experiences now.”
Over the years, Georgia has raised more than £10,000 for Encephalitis International charity- completing a Marathon in Milton Keynes this May.
Fiance, Laurence, 29, says: “Before I saw Georgia, the doctor warned me that she wouldn’t know who I was.
“Yet I’d always hoped when she saw me something might come back. Sadly, it never did.
“I was nervous that, as she recovered, she might decide that being together wasn’t something she wanted, but I was always confident that we were meant to be together.
“The hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with is being forgotten by the women I loved.
“Georgia has been so good at understanding the impact it had on me as well.
“Our relationship is 100 times stronger because of what we had to deal with.”
The Encephalitis Society estimates, that every year it affects around 500,000 people worldwide – with about 6,000 of those cases coming from the UK.
The couple says their experience has made their relationship 100 times stronger 
