"It was a German accent," said Yakaboski.
It turns out Pattie was suffering from a rare disorder called "Foreign Accent Syndrome." Only a few dozen people worldwide are known to have it at any given time. While it may sound funny, Pattie says living with the condition was devastating.
In one instance, she was given a hard time at JIA by security screeners.
"They say what country are you from and I say 'America' and they're like, 'no you're not.' Then they started yelling at me."
But there was hope for Pattie. One day on TV, she saw UCF professor Dr. Jack Ryalls.
He's been studying foreign accent syndrome for years.
"I can remember seeing Pattie. Her chances were very good that she would get her old accent back again."
Pattie underwent intensive speech therapy with Dr. Ryalls. "There was a light at the end of the tunnel," said Pattie.
Today, she has her voice back--and she has this message for skeptics or people who think Foreign Accent Syndrome is a joke.
"When you have a broken arm, you can see it. when you have a broken leg, you can see it. When you have brain damage, you can't see it. So don't judge a book by its cover."
