For patient WO, referred to as William, today is always Monday March 14, 2005.
He can remember everything up to that date, but since then, the 38-year-old can only hold memories for 90 minutes. After that they are lost.
This man’s touching story reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray, in which a weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.
William has not suffered any brain damage nor is he faking his condition or baffling experts.
William’s doctor, Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Burgess, says that William is stuck in an endless loop of waking up and thinking he has a routine dental appointment to go to. He can recall everything until 1:40pm on the day of March 14, 2005, while he was serving in Germany and received anesthesia before a root canal treatment.
Dr. Burgess says William’s condition is unique and needs a new classification in the field of amnesia.
Dr. Burgess says:
“He wakes up believing he should still be in the military, stationed abroad.”
“Every day he thinks it is the day of the dental appointment.”
“Each morning he is prompted by his wife to check his computer, on which the family has listed, and keep updated, key facts he should be aware of.”
The doctor has cited that William’s symptoms are similar to patients suffering from what’s known as anterograde amnesia.
It’s when damage to the bilateral hippocampal or diencephalon regions in the brain cause short spans of awareness as well as complete and rapid memory loss.
It’s usually brought on by a specific event or trauma and causes patients to lose the ability to create new memories, while long-term memories from before the event are clear.
Without the presence of brain damage or changes, the experts believe the cause of amnesia in William could be a breakdown of protein synthesis in the brain. Another explanation is that he is faking it.
Dr. Burgess has entertained the thought that William is faking it, but after 10 years he has dismissed that.
William manages his daily life and remains oriented throughout the day through continuous accept to an electronic diary and prompts.
Dr. Burgess’s final thoughts:
“Overall, this brand of amnesia needs another diagnostic or classification category than any currently existing.”
We certainly wish you luck William.
And the next time anyone complains about their life, they should keep in mind how much worse it can be waking up every morning thinking it’s Monday March 14, 2005, and you have to go to a dental appointment…
[Featured Image Credit: hookedonhouses.net]