'I will never remember my son's childhood': how an American lives, having lost her memory during childbirth
'10.12.2019'
Source: Lenta.ru report
When young and healthy people lose their memory, this is always unexpected. Left without memories of themselves and loved ones, they have to rebuild their lives. It is especially difficult for relatives to explain to patients who they are again and again every day. We tell how people live who have lost their memory and learned to do without it.
The life of Steve and Camre Curto from the US state of Michigan turned upside down in an instant, writes "Lenta.ru". In 2012, a young couple was preparing for the birth of their firstborn, when a woman went to the hospital due to breathing difficulties. She was found to have preeclampsia, a serious complication that occurs during pregnancy. During the attack, her brain was left without oxygen for several minutes. Doctors saved her life and saved her child, but she lost her memory.
“It was a coincidence that it was precisely those lobes of the brain that are responsible for creating and storing memories,” says Steve. - She could be speechless, her hand could be paralyzed. Then I did not understand this. "
When the woman woke up, he immediately noticed a change. Camre looked at him blankly, as if seeing him for the first time. She did not recognize her beloved husband, she forgot about pregnancy and the birth of her son.
“I did not know anyone,” she said later. “I had no idea who I was, I didn’t even remember my name.”
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The full extent of the disaster became clear only a few days later. Camre not only lost her memory, but also lost the ability to preserve new memories. Nothing held her mind for more than a few seconds. When Steve left her room, she immediately forgot about his existence. After returning, he was again a stranger to her.
When Camre was discharged from the hospital, the question arose of what to do next. “She didn’t want to go home because she didn’t know who I was,” recalls Steve. It was impossible to leave her alone with her newborn son. Although the woman tried to learn how to change diapers or feed the baby, her skills were not fixed in her memory.
Parents helped Camra. For almost nine months, she lived with them, and Steve alone tried to cope with work, caring for the baby and despair. “Our life seems to have stopped,” he recalls. “I was heartbroken because she did not recognize me.” The confession that Camre made six weeks after losing her memory helped to not give up: “I don’t know where I am, I don’t know who you are, and I have no idea how I got here, but I know that I love you.”
Here and now
On Valentine's Day, Steve handed Camra the same birthday card for three consecutive years. She did not remember her and was glad that she was seeing a gift for the first time. For the fourth time, the trick didn't work. “You already gave it last year!” His wife accused.
For Steve, these words were the best gift. They testified that her short-term memory is gradually getting better. Soon any memories remained for at least three to four days, and something was put aside in the head for a longer period. Camre no longer forgot that she has a husband and a child.
Steve had a hope that someday she would recover and everything would fall into place.
“I’m terribly lucky that Camra is alive,” he says. “She is an amazing woman and the strongest person I have ever met.”
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However, Camre’s progress also had a flip side. Now she realized how serious her ailment was. A woman understands that she will never have memories of her son’s childhood, and this breaks her heart. To keep the happy moments eluding from memory even on paper, she began to keep a diary.
Camre tries not to lose heart.
“Every day is a new day,” she says with a smile on her face. - On 9 of October 2012 of the year, someone held an eraser in my head and everything became new. I live every day to the maximum and pray that my memory will return. ”
