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[maliedoo]

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Doctors are looking into the mystery of a Florida man who awoke speaking only Swedish, with no memory of his past, after he was found unconscious four months ago at a Southern California motel.

Michael Boatwright, 61, woke up with amnesia, calling himself Johan Ek, The Desert Sun reported,

Boatwright was found unconscious in a Motel 6 room in Palm Springs, Calif., in February. After police arrived, he was transported to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs where he woke up.

Hospital officials said Boatwright may have been in town for a tennis tournament in the Coachella Valley. He was found with a duffel bag of exercise clothes, a backpack and tennis rackets. He also carried four forms of identification — a passport, a California identification card, a veteran's medical card and a Social Security card — all of which identified him as Michael Thomas Boatwright.

Palm Springs police have documented his information in case anyone lists Boatwright as missing or wanted, authorities said.

In March, doctors diagnosed Boatwright with Transient Global Amnesia, a condition triggered by physical or emotional trauma that can last for several months.

The rare mental disorder is characterized by memory loss, "sudden and unplanned travel," and possible adoption of a new identity, according to the Sun.

After an extensive search, medical personnel and social workers have been unable to locate Boatwright's next of kin. Authorities are still unsure of his birthplace, listed on his ID as Florida — photos show him in Sweden at a young age.

Boatwright doesn't recall how to exchange money, take public transportation, or seek temporary housing like homeless shelters or hotels, the social worker assigned to his case, Lisa Hunt-Vasquez, told the Sun.

He doesn't remember his son and two ex-wives, either.

He has no income or insurance, further complicating his treatment at Desert Regional. And he has little money he can access — only $180. He also has a few Chinese bank accounts, but can only access one account, which holds $7, according to the newspaper.

Doctors don't know how much longer he will be able to stay at the center — aside from his amnesia, Boatwright is in good health. The hospital is currently looking for alternatives that would keep him off the streets. For now, Boatwright is unsure of both his past and his future.

"Sometimes it makes me really sad and sometimes it just makes me furious about the whole situation and the fact that I don't know anybody, I don't recognize anybody," Boatwright told the newspaper.

Last year, a North Dakota college student who went missing for nearly a week before turning up in Arizona said she had a bout of amnesia and didn't know who she was.

Amber Glatt, a 22-year-old Valley City State University student, vanished on the Fourth of July, prompting aerial searches. She contacted her mother five days later from the Grand Canyon. Her mother said Glatt has had recurring amnesia since suffering a head injury years ago.

Glatt told WDAY-TV (http://bit.ly/NmbSnR ) that after she lost her memory she met a man in a bar who let her tag along on his trip to the Grand Canyon. She said the man eventually saw online that she'd been reported missing and alerted her.

Glatt regained most of her memory.

Source: USA TODAY

Brain, you're drunk, go home.
Seriously feel sorry for this guy, that shit must suck.

 

[CrankyJay]

 

[ComputerMKII]

Amnesia makes for terrible video game protagonists.

 

[Aristion]

You mean THE Johann Eck? The theological opponent of Martin Luther?

 

[davepoobond]

Crazy man. You essentially become a new person with new experiences

I always wondered what happens to the new persona when you regain your memory.


Also

Get your ass to mars!

 

[massoluk]

This dude?

 

[Xanathus]

Swedish sleeper agent.

 

[fanboi]

Read this in Swedish newspapers... he was American, but moved to Sweden where he got a citizenship and learnt Swedish?

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

 

[Rad-]

Call me evil but I was hoping for a crazy twist to this story. Like he had never been to Sweden dun dun dunnnn.

 

[CrankyJay]

lol, i saw this picture, but didn't look at your username....then clicked out of the thread, and came back in it just to see who posted it.

exactly who i thought it was.

thank you.

 

[strafer]

Bullshit.

This is so made up it's not even funny. It's like from a bad movie.

 

[maliedoo]

Bullshit.

This is so made up it's not even funny. It's like from a bad movie.

he's trying to get his 15 min of fame... lol

 

[kirblar]

Just another Otaku cosplayer.

 

[speedpop]

The brain is a wonderful instrument.

 

[kiunchbb]

Don't laugh at him guys, he might end up saving the world or something.

 

[waypoetic]

You mean THE Johann Eck? The theological opponent of Martin Luther?

No. Johan Ek. Stop adding shit.

 

[AbsolutBro]

Had a brief stint of amnesia when I suffered a concussion and skull fracture as a small child. Very terrifying feeling. Made worse when people you knew talk to you with extreme familiarity and you feel absolutely no connection to them. I did not recognize my own father for awhile. Fortunately for me it almost all came back.


This guy has my absolute sympathies.

 

[maliedoo]

Had a brief stint of amnesia when I suffered a concussion and skull fracture as a small child. Very terrifying feeling. Made worse when people you knew talk to you with extreme familiarity and you feel absolutely no connection to them. I did not recognize my own father for awhile. Fortunately for me it almost all came back.


This guy has my absolute sympathies.

Shit. I can't imagine what that feels like....

 

[jet1911]

Had a brief stint of amnesia when I suffered a concussion and skull fracture as a small child. Very terrifying feeling. Made worse when people you knew talk to you with extreme familiarity and you feel absolutely no connection to them. I did not recognize my own father for awhile. Fortunately for me it almost all came back.


This guy has my absolute sympathies.

That must be the weirdest feeling, especially when you start to remember.

 

[massoluk]

Had a brief stint of amnesia when I suffered a concussion and skull fracture as a small child. Very terrifying feeling. Made worse when people you knew talk to you with extreme familiarity and you feel absolutely no connection to them. I did not recognize my own father for awhile. Fortunately for me it almost all came back.


This guy has my absolute sympathies.

Wow, how long did it last for you?

 

[davepoobond]

Had a brief stint of amnesia when I suffered a concussion and skull fracture as a small child. Very terrifying feeling. Made worse when people you knew talk to you with extreme familiarity and you feel absolutely no connection to them. I did not recognize my own father for awhile. Fortunately for me it almost all came back.


This guy has my absolute sympathies.

do you feel like a different person still compared to "before" you had your amnesia?

 

[strafer]

Had a brief stint of amnesia when I suffered a concussion and skull fracture as a small child. Very terrifying feeling. Made worse when people you knew talk to you with extreme familiarity and you feel absolutely no connection to them. I did not recognize my own father for awhile. Fortunately for me it almost all came back.


This guy has my absolute sympathies.

Damn. Sounds scary.

 

[Tenrius]

Had a brief stint of amnesia when I suffered a concussion and skull fracture as a small child. Very terrifying feeling. Made worse when people you knew talk to you with extreme familiarity and you feel absolutely no connection to them. I did not recognize my own father for awhile. Fortunately for me it almost all came back.


This guy has my absolute sympathies.

I lost several hours worth of my memory when I got in a car crash. Was 11 at the time, suffered a concussion and a mouth injury. It was really weird and scary: I went straight from relaxing on the back seat of the family car to sitting in the back of an emergency vehicle, with my chest fully covered in blood (which came from my mouth) and saying "What happened? What happened?" repeatedly with my dad lying next to me, extremely pale (he had a hip bone fracture, all long since fully healed thankfully). I was conscious the whole time, apparently, but the memory just didn't register due to shock/concussion, so that's probably not amnesia per se.

They didn't seem to do a very good job of stitching that mouth injury, by the way, which left me with a constant slight smile/smirk on my face. My lips themselves are fine, but the orientation is wrong, so people think I'm always smiling. I feel like I'm bloody Joker at times.

 

[SkepticalPanda]

They didn't seem to do a very good job of stitching that mouth injury, by the way, which left me with a constant slight smile/smirk on my face.

I know this isn't something to joke about, but I laughed hard imagining your mother saying "Wipe that smile off of your face!".

 

[Tenrius]

I know this isn't something to joke about, but I laughed hard imagining your mother saying "Wipe that smile off of your face!".

It's alright actually, the smile is not very noticeable and people almost never comment on that anyway (they probably just think I'm a very cheerful person or something lol). It is very noticeable when I look at myself in the mirror on the other hand and experimenting with various expressions sometimes yields weird results.

 

[dcdobson]

This is the opening 10 minutes of every JRPG.

 

[AbsolutBro]

Shit. I can't imagine what that feels like....

The only thing I can compare it to is when someone you used to know but no longer recognize comes up to you and says "omg how ARE you?!". But instead of standing there they're hugging you and instead of surprised they're panicked.

That must be the weirdest feeling, especially when you start to remember.

Wow, how long did it last for you?

About 3-4 weeks I guess? Memories coming back was a bit weird, mostly because I would suddenly remember something and all I could think was "why didn't I remember that in the first place?"

do you feel like a different person still compared to "before" you had your amnesia?

Not really? I was young (7) when it happened, so I didn't have too much to lose forget in the first place.

Damn. Sounds scary.

Honestly, at first it wasn't. I didn't even really understand that something had happened. I certainly didn't remember the accident itself.

I lost several hours worth of my memory when I got in a car crash. Was 11 at the time, suffered a concussion and a mouth injury. It was really weird and scary: I went straight from relaxing on the back seat of the family car to sitting in the back of an emergency vehicle, with my chest fully covered in blood (which came from my mouth) and saying "What happened? What happened?" repeatedly with my dad lying next to me, extremely pale (he had a hip bone fracture, all long since fully healed thankfully). I was conscious the whole time, apparently, but the memory just didn't register due to shock/concussion, so that's probably not amnesia per se.

They didn't seem to do a very good job of stitching that mouth injury, by the way, which left me with a constant slight smile/smirk on my face. My lips themselves are fine, but the orientation is wrong, so people think I'm always smiling. I feel like I'm bloody Joker at times.

Shock and head wounds can definitely cause partial amnesia. People rarely remember head wounds especially.

I was on a trip with my school when I was 7. We were staying in an old hostel and I fell headfirst down stone stairs. I was apparently unconscious for a couple hours before anyone found me. Woke up briefly to a doctor giving me some asprin before I blacked out again, woke up in a hospital. I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying, so I couldn't really answer questions at first. When I could understand them, I couldn't remember my name, couldn't tell them where I was or who I was with. Finally my dad showed up and I had not the slightest idea who he was, so the doctors refused to release me for another two days. Luckily I was young and bounced back pretty well I guess. I still don't remember everything, doubt I ever will. I don't even remember the 2 days of the trip before I fell.