A Glasgow woman lost five years of her life and woke up believing she was Australian after being struck down with a rare condition.

Nicola Money, 26, is thought to be the only person in Scotland with the auto immune disorder, Susac Syndrome.

She couldn’t eat, walk or talk and lost five years of memories when she was stuck down with the condition at 22. When she recovered consciouness, she was convinced she was Australian and taking part in the Olympics.

Doctors took a month to find out what was wrong her, initially suspecting it was Multiple Sclerosis or Meningitis before they diagnosed the rare condition, which affects only three people in the UK.

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Now four years on Nicola is slowly rebuilding the missing pieces of her life and back to being a Scot.

Nicola, who is from Cathcart, said: “I was 22 when I fell ill and I lost all my memories of the previous five years.

“It was hard not remembering people’s faces and stuff from my early twenties which people say are their best memories.

“I feel I’ve spent my twenties trying to gain back my confidence and ability to do things that everyone else learned when they were a child.

“When I came to and was talking I was convinced I was Australian and participating in the Olympics. Some people with the illness come round from the illness and think they’re French but I was Australian and apparently a very convincing Australian.

“I have regained the important stuff now, the memories with family and my cat Bella.

“It took them over a month to diagnose.

“I couldn’t walk, talk or eat for a good few weeks.”

The cause of Susac Syndrome is unknown and early and aggressive treatment is essential to prevent irreversible neurological damage.

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On Sunday Nicola, who works in insurance, will line up in George Square for the Great Scottish Run half marathon, remarkable given the fact she was unable to walk five years ago.

She said: “I was supposed to do the London marathon the year after I got ill in 2012 but sadly couldn’t participate so this is a huge deal for me.

“I’m a natural runner. I haven’t really trained but I ran 13 miles last Sunday and I did it in just over two hours.

“My dad did a lot of running and did the London marathon many times so I think it’s in my genes.

“I gained eight stone because I was on streroids but since I lost that, I’ve been going to the gym.”

“I could run before I could walk when I was recovering from my illness. It’s such a major achievement for me to run this race.

“It’s the first year I’ve felt confident enough to do it. My balance isn’t 100% yet.”

Nicola's friend Susannah Cahalan has made a film about her illness, which is attracting a lot of interest online and due to be premiered this month in Toronto, called Brain on Fire.

She said: “It’s something I’m quite passionate about. There isn’t a lot of awareness about Susac Syndrome and people are being misdiagnosed.”

Entries are still available for the Great Scottish Run 10k and family events. To enter go to http://greatscottishrun.com/