Man With Amnesia Found Speaking Swedish
After being found unconscious in Palm Springs California, Michael Boatwright woke up in the hospital with amnesia speaking only Swedish.
Boatwright had woken up in the hospital with no memories of his past, and unable to answer any of the questions the medical staff asked of him.
In fact, Boatwright wouldn’t even respond to his own name, insisting that he was Johan Ek.
“The guy Michael — it wasn’t me. I’m still Johan,” he said through a translator in a recent hospital interview according to The Desert Sun.
ABC News reported that Boatwright had been found unconscious in a Motel 6 room in Palm Springs in February.
In March, hospital officials 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 Desert Sun.
Medical professionals have been trying to figure out why the Florida man has created this Swedish persona, and after an extensive search, ABC News reports that staff has been unable to locate Michael Boatwright’s next of kin.
Swedish public record have helped in this investigation because the show that Boatwright lived in the Nordic country on and off between 1981 and 2003.
“Several Swedes on Tuesday said they knew of him as an American with a big interest in medieval history and jousting.”
Aside from his amnesia, Boatwright is in good health, so doctors are not sure how much longer he will remain in their care.
“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 has said he has no memory of even his ex-wives and or his son.
Doctors and staff are working to find alternatives that would keep him off of the streets because even Michael Boatwright is unsure of how things will move on from this point if his amnesia doesn’t improve.
[Image via Huffington Post]