SINGAPORE — Five years ago, Hazwady Nazran, now 38, was hospitalised with mysterious and terrifying symptoms such as violent episodes, paranoid delusions, confusion, memory loss and seizures.

If his wife, Dr Miria Hastuti Soedarsono, 34, had not insisted that he be given a spinal tap, the music teacher and songwriter could have ended up in a mental hospital.

"Hazwady had three months of weird behaviour. He would say he could not see properly, and he would go without sleeping for three days at a stretch. He loves our son and would never scold the boy, yet he was shouting at Almizan," recalled Dr Soedarsono.

Hazwady said: "This disease was a silent thief. It sneaked in quietly, causing anxiety, confusion and memory loss, compounded by wild emotional outbursts, hallucinations and the inability to comprehend the thoughts in my mind."

The disease struck him in late 2018 when the family was leading "a happy, calm and pleasant life".

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