Woman hospitalized for a violent migraine ends up losing 30 years of memory

An American woman had an experience as rare as it was disturbing in October 2018. Following hospitalization for a migraine, she lost all memories of the last 30 years of her life.

woman violent migraine hospitalized lost memory health
© Yoss Sabalet / Getty Images
woman violent migraine hospitalized lost memory health

October 2018 will forever be etched in Kim Denicola's memory, but not in the way you might expect. A trivial migraine landed the then 56-year-old resident of Baton Rouge, USA, in the emergency room. And the American woman emerged with selective amnesia, erasing the last three decades of her life. In fact, she lost all memory of the last 30 years of her life.

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This American woman loses the last 30 years of her life

In 2018, Kim Denicola arrived at the emergency room with a migraine and blurred vision. When she woke up in hospital, the young woman had no memory of the last 30 years of her life: not of her husband, not of her two children, not even of her adult life. Unable to recognize the present day, she thought she was still a teenager in the 80s. Doctors quickly diagnosed her with transient global amnesia, a rare condition often associated with moments of intense stress.

An experience as rare as it is disturbing

Five years after her diagnosis, Kim Denicola, now aged 61, still hasn't recovered her memory. Doctors deemed the recovery of her memories unlikely. Indeed, despite attempts, through her diaries, she was unsuccessful. She lamented on local TV station WAFB:

I've lost a lot of Christmas.

Despite the trauma of such an experience, Kim Denicola has chosen redemption by moving forward. The American has created new memories with her husband and children. She added:

I may have lost my memory, but guess what? We can create new memories.

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This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Source used:

New York Post

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