'Possessed' woman was actually battling brain illness linked to growth on ovary

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Revealed: 'Possessed' woman battling brain illness linked to growth on ovary

Lorina Gutierrez, whose family believed she was ‘possessed by an evil spirit’ was actually battling a rare illness.

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A woman suffering from seizures, hallucinations and paranoia for more than two months finally found relief after doctors discovered a massive growth on her ovary, which triggered a rare autoimmune disease in her brain. Lorina Gutierrez, of New Mexico, was even admitted to a psychiatric ward after she became delusional and turned violent, SWNS reported.

“I was so scared, it was like she was possessed,” Stephen Gutierrez, Lorina’s husband, told the news agency. “The night after she came home from the ER we were up the whole night. She couldn’t sleep and she was just talking gibberish. She kept saying ‘We need to get out of here, we need to leave.’ She kept getting up and trying to leave the house.”

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Stephen Gutierrez said doctors asked if his wife had been drinking or using drugs and suggested that Lorina might be experiencing a nervous breakdown or depression.

“During her psychiatric consultation she took a swing at me and we had to hold her down, it was so out-of-character,” he told SWNS. “It was then she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital. At one point I threw a little bit of holy water on her. Afterwards, my family told me they wouldn’t have been surprised if her head started spinning after I did that.”

Doctors discovered a 6-inch by 6-inch tumor on one of Gutierrez's ovaries, which had prompted her body to produce antibodies which then attacked her brain. (SWNS)

Eventually, she lost the ability to talk, walk or eat independently, and was not responding to treatment. The 39-year-old was then transferred to Presbyterian Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with anti-NMDA receptor limbic autoimmune encephalitis, an autoimmune disease that caused her brain to swell.

According to The Encephalitis Society, Gutierrez's symptoms were on par with her diagnosis. The disorder typically strikes in women more commonly than men, and once it is diagnosed doctors then look for an underlying tumor as the root cause.

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She had developed the disease as a response to a 6-inch by 6-inch tumor that had developed on one of her ovaries. According to SWNS, she underwent heavy steroid treatment and plasmapheresis in an attempt to clear her body of the antibodies that had been attacking both the tumor and her brain.

“Over the course of three months I underwent speech, physical and occupational therapy but I don’t remember much of it,” she told SWNS. “It’s a blur. Right now I’m in remission but I could relapse at any time. It’s not curable, it’s only treatable.”

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The mother of three said her faith helped her stay positive despite her frightening ordeal, and that she hopes by sharing her story others will be more informed about the disease.