A cowgirl in the US who suffered a catastrophic brain injury woke up as an accidental genius.
Leigh Erceg, 47, was a ranchworker in Colorado when she tumbled into a ravine, causing terrible spine and head wounds which left doctors in fear for her life.
But as she recovered, she found she had become a gifted poet and artist, as well as a maths whizz, with no memory of her former life - even her mum.
Leigh is thought to be the only person on the planet with acquired savant syndrome - where cognitive ability in certain areas is vastly enhanced in later life.
She can also now 'see' sounds and 'hear' colors - a condition known as synesthesia.
“Leigh is the only woman in the world who has acquired savant syndrome and synesthesia following brain injury that I know of,” said Dr. Berit Brogaard, a neuroscientist who has been studying her.
Formerly an athlete with a degree in physical education and a love of NASCAR racing, Leigh who was managing a ranch in 2009 when tragedy struck.
“I don’t know what type of fall it was but it must have been pretty dramatic,” she said.
“I just remember them saying ‘Leigh, keep breathing.’ I remember it was a sheriff, and he said, ’Leigh keep breathing.’ There isn't pictures, there is just words, ‘Leigh keep breathing.’”
Doctors weren't initially unsure she would ever walk again.
Her brain suffered severe damage, but with very unusual effects.
Now Leigh can't remember anything of her old life, not even her childhood or who her mother is.
She is forced to rely on Amber Anastasio, an old school friend, to help her understand who she used to be.
In addition to her memories, Leigh also lost her ability to feel emotion, known as the “flat effect.”
She has since learned to smile or chuckle as a response to social cues, but says she doesn’t feel or understand the reaction.
She said she was initially misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder.
“Leigh was a total extrovert. She was very confident,” Amber said.
“I just know that she is different now. It’s not a bad different. It’s just different. It’s who she is now.”
Leigh's home filled with mathematical equations and art.
All of her drawings are done with music playing through her headphones
In a bid to understand her strange new talents, Leigh visited Dr Brogaard at the University of Miami.
“Most people, if you ask them to draw a house or a car they will start with the outline of the car or house and they will fill in the windows and door and the wheels,” said the doc.
“When you ask Leigh to draw something, she will start with the details. She will start with the windows or the wheels – the details, and fill out that way. She is attending to details before she is attending to the whole.
Leigh’s condition is so incredibly rare that it took numerous scientific studies and brain scans to diagnose her with what is called “savant syndrome.”
Acquired savant syndrome is when a person isn’t born with the condition, which is the case with Leigh.