A teenage girl from Ashford who became so ill that she lost her memory and the ability to speak and walk has returned to the hospital that saved her life.

Rafaela Domingos, from Kennington, was 14 when she began developing symptoms that her GP at first blamed on stress from school.

When her health worsened considerably, doctors found that she had contracted autoimmune encephalitis, a rare condition which causes an inflammation of the brain.

The condition affects 6,000 people in the UK every year, and left Rafaela unable to remember who she was, or who her parents were.

Her mother Florbela Martinho, 48, recounted the terrifying experience: "In February 2017 when Rafaela was 14 she started to feel ill. She couldn’t sleep, lost her appetite and was easily confused and disorientated.

"I was very concerned, so I took her to see our GP but he didn’t think it was anything serious. He put it down to stress from school.

"A week later she had a seizure when she was in school and was unresponsive for five minutes. She was taken to our local hospital and had lots of tests but they all came back fine so she was sent home.

"The doctors didn't know what was wrong... we really feared for her life..." - Florbela Martinho

"The following weekend she had another seizure during a family walk, and was taken to our local hospital but her condition began to deteriorate.

"Her speech started to become incoherent and she didn’t know who she was and didn’t recognise her family. She was also hallucinating and attempting to run away all the time.

"She eventually stopped talking and walking and had to be tube fed. It was really frightening.

"The doctors didn’t know what was wrong and her condition was getting worse. We really feared for her life"

Doctors at Rafaela’s local hospital contacted the neurology team at Evelina London for advice, and the teenager was transported to the London hospital.

The Evelina team suspected that Rafaela had encephalitis, and she had a lumbar puncture test which confirmed the diagnosis.

Florbela said: “It was a huge relief finally knowing what condition Rafaela had and that it could be treated.

"Her condition really began to improve when she was given treatment to suppress her immune system.

Read more: Family of girl, 7, campaign to raise awareness of encephalitis

"One day she woke up talking and walking. She slowly began to get her memory back and remember who we were.

"Two months after Rafaela was admitted she was discharged from Evelina London. It was such a relief to have her back to her normal self.

"We are so grateful to the doctors who looked after Rafaela. She wouldn’t be here now if she wasn’t diagnosed in time.”

Eight months after she was discharged from the hospital Rafaela returned to school full time to prepare for her GCSEs. She is now studying photography at college.

Rafaela, now 17, was invited back to Evelina London as the official photographer for the hospital’s Inspiring Youth Conference in October

The conference is attended by current and former patients at the hospital as well as young people from Southward and Lambeth.

Rafaela said: "It was lovely to be back at Evelina London. I felt very honoured to be asked to take photos for the Inspiring Youth Conference.

"I really enjoy photography and my dream is to be a professional photographer when I leave college.

'I owe my life to the brilliant doctors and nurses who looked after me...'- Rafaela Domingos

"Evelina London is a very special place for me.

"I don’t remember much about the time when I was sick, but I know I owe my life to the brilliant doctors and nurses who looked after me.

"I’m so thankful for their kindness and fantastic care.”

Dr Ming Lim, consultant paediatric neurologist at Evelina London, said: "Rafaela has made a remarkable recovery.

"We are so pleased that she is doing well and was able to attend our Inspiring Youth Conference.

"I know that she has a very keen interest in photography so given all that she has been through, I thought it would be great for her to take the official photos for the event.

"Encephalitis is a very serious condition that can lead to life-changing complications and can even be fatal if it’s not treated in time.

"The condition can be caused by viral and bacterial infections or a problem with the immune system.

"At Evelina London we have specialist teams who are able to diagnose and treat rare conditions like this.”

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford

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