Amnesia?

[NEOWatcher]

So; we are hearing about this canoeist gone missing for 5 years (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/05/missing.canoeist/index.html).
One thing that I haven't heard from reporters yet, is any kind of medical or scientific support or opposition to his story.

Just how can amnesia in a situation like this work.
Could he have gone day by day for five years not knowing anything in addition to not remembering both long term and short term information?

I would think that the person should be well aware of what has happened since the incident, or was in full facility until the recent memory loss.

[torque of the town]

Could he have gone day by day for five years not knowing anything in addition to not remembering both long term and short term information?


NO!

He's just been arrested by the police on insurance fraud charges, apparently he was living in Panama with his wife on the proceeds.

[NEOWatcher]

NO!
I suspected that (since they apparently have enough to arrest him)... but, it's not being discussed or reported whether the story is even possible (or why).

[torque of the town]

I suspected that (since they apparently have enough to arrest him)... but, it's not being discussed or reported whether the story is even possible (or why).




http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/homepage/int/ne/nhdr/h1/t/-/news/1/hi/england/tees/7128816.stm

[NEOWatcher]

That still doesn't address the viability of amnesia as an alibi (no matter how useless that alibi would be).
Yes; overwhelming evidence exists to the contrary, but nothing on the nature of how amnesia can work.

[torque of the town]

Sorry I missed your point a little, have not got clue how he thought amnesia would help him :confused:

[01101001]

Yes; overwhelming evidence exists to the contrary, but nothing on the nature of how amnesia can work.

I suspect the suspect might have been suffering from cinematic amnesia, from watching too many movies about bogus fictional amnesia.

Wikipedia: Amnesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesia)

Amnesia in fiction
Amnesia is prevalent in many works of fiction. Global amnesia is a common motif in fiction despite being extraordinarily rare in reality.

[KaiYeves]

That is certainly an interesting story. I suggest we wait for a little more information, before we decide what happened, though.
Global amnesia
As in the whole world forgets what they were doing?

[chrissy]

his wife has admitted to fraud and knows that she will have to pay the insurance money back she is talking to her solicitor and returning back to the uk soon. they didnt live that far away from where i live here in the uk, there is also a photo of them both in panama smiling for a picture to go on the web! it makes me wonder why he turned up to say im back, did their money run out and wanted to sell his story for more cash?

[novaderrik]

i wonder if he'd submit to a simple test to see if his memory returns..
offer to hit him over the head with a hammer- which we all know cures amnesia- and see how fast he starts remembering things.

[Maksutov]

Probably just needs a steady dose of this:

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7885/phillipsxz7.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=phillipsxz7.jpg)

[Lianachan]

i wonder if he'd submit to a simple test to see if his memory returns..
offer to hit him over the head with a hammer- which we all know cures amnesia- and see how fast he starts remembering things.

I'm trying to remember - isn't it one hit for cause, two hits for cure? How many is it to have a circle of tweeting bluebirds flying around your head, again?

[Maksutov]

[edit]How many is it to have a circle of tweeting bluebirds flying around your head, again?Depends on what particular strain of coyote you are.

[MentalAvenger]

I seem to be missing something here. The “evidence” they have on him is a photo from a tabloid? I didn’t see where his wife admitted it was fraud. It seems like y’all are being a bit hasty in condemning this guy. I’d expect seeing you in the mob trying to lynch Little Joe Cartwright, even though it was his stunt double that did it.

Have any of you had amnesia? I have, twice. It is a really strange feeling. Both times were due to drugs given during surgery. I am told that in the latter case, I functioned normally and talked normally for about 7 hours before I found myself sitting at my computer wondering how I got there. It is downright spooky.

[Kaptain K]

Anesthesia doesn't count! I had two major operations in five days and except for disconnected fragments and some weird dreams (i was on a morphine drip) I remember nothing about what happened for about a week. My brother says I was somewhat cogent, although a little loopy.

[Neverfly]

I agree though. I've seen some leaping to conclusions going on here in the thread.
KaiYeves also commented on it.
I think that even the links to the articles are vague and grossly uninformative. I was wondering why he was even arrested at all. Usually an arrest means they are definetly being charged for a crime. Yet the articles say they arrested him for questioning. And what's up with him walking into a police station?

The whole thing is too vague at this point to form any solid opinions yet.

[MentalAvenger]

Anesthesia doesn't count!Doesn’t count? Doesn’t count for what? Amnesia is amnesia. In any case, my amnesia was not from anesthetic. I was awake during the procedures and the amnesia was probably caused by the Demerol or valium, and lasted long after the drug was gone. As I said, I was awake and acting normal, according to witnesses. No slurred speech, no loss of motor control, totally normal.

BTW, I don’t react well to general anesthesia, so the last 5 operations were done with a saddle block and a little calming medicine like valium. I watched my own appendectomy (in the big light reflectors) and three knee operations (on the monitors and also actual). It was fascinating.

[torque of the town]

Doesn’t count? Doesn’t count for what?


Eh,...mmm,....No use it's all gone :confused:

[Whirlpool]

BTW, I don’t react well to general anesthesia, so the last 5 operations were done with a saddle block and a little calming medicine like valium. I watched my own appendectomy (in the big light reflectors) and three knee operations (on the monitors and also actual). It was fascinating.


:neutral:

WOW.

I can't even stand seeing the syringe sucking out my blood during blood examination , more so a surgery procedure.

[badchap]

Years ago when I did some nursing training in mental health, there was a patient who presented with this type of 'global' amnesia- where it continued for some weeks - he didn't know who he was, or his family, his history, could not draw the most basic shapes, and did not recognise many everyday items..turned out that he did not suffer such a rare condition at all, poor man was definitely suffering, but it was a kind of denial, he just wasn't coping with his life at that time, rather than caused by some physical injury. or a chemical/drug thing.
I recall the experts of the day saying that it would have been an extremely rare condition if it were real.

[farmerjumperdon]

Sorry I missed your point a little, have not got clue how he thought amnesia would help him :confused:

He probably had an idea when he started this, but forgot.

[Fazor]

I recall the experts of the day saying that it would have been an extremely rare condition if it were real.

Well, from my extensive knowlege of all things medical (I watch Scrubs), amnesia is generally presented as either a loss of memory of events prior to the incident (usually just hours or days leading up to it, other times pretty much everything before it), or as lack of short-term memory after the incident, depending on what part of the brain was injured.

AFAIK, it is indeed extreemely rare that a patient would exhibit both symptoms. But, the part I would find even harder to believe would be that someone would suffer from this, without those arround them knowing something was wrong and making an effort to help determine who he was.

Even if you honestly didn't know you didn't know who you were, what house would you go to? What job would you get? Where would you cash your checks? Wouldn't someone along that line ask a question that you couldn't satisfy, unless you were intending to decieve?

[Noclevername]

Sounds like he had a bad case of "Soap Opera Amnesia". Too bad it wasn't "Sitcom Amnesia", that's always cured in under half an hour.

[Fazor]

Too bad it wasn't "Sitcom Amnesia", that's always cured in under half an hour.

Yes, and cured with a halarious chain of evens with inevadably leads to the amneseé being bonked on the head by something ironic, or unexpected.

For some reason George Costanza comes to mind, though I don't remember it ever being a plot line.

[NEOWatcher]

Well, from my extensive knowlege of all things medical (I watch Scrubs)...
(In my case its "House") Thank you for eloquantly stating my OP bewilderment. Yes; for 5 years, nobody figured out that he needs help?

Sounds like he had a bad case of "Soap Opera Amnesia". Too bad it wasn't "Sitcom Amnesia", that's always cured in under half an hour.
Crickey*, even SOA is cured within a season.

*Me yank wonders if this is the proper UK expression.

[Fazor]

Ah, House! I knew there was another medical-type show that I watch religiously, just couldn't remember what it was (Oh no! I hope I don't find a kayak in my shed when I get home!...and I hope it's my home i get home to!).

[hhEb09'1]

Doesn’t count? Doesn’t count for what? Amnesia is amnesia. In any case, my amnesia was not from anesthetic. I was awake during the procedures and the amnesia was probably caused by the Demerol or valium, and lasted long after the drug was gone. Maybe Versed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midazolam)? It's often in the anesthesia bag of tricks.

[Noclevername]

Crickey*, even SOA is cured within a season.


On some (US) soaps, at least two that I know of, SOA has been used as a retcon to explain when a former actor is rehired sometime later; the longest I know of was something like ten years.

EDIT: Crikey must be Australian, Croc Hunter used it.

[chrissy]

i dont know if this will work but here goes : http://www.itvlocal.com/tynetees/news

my local news there is two stories on there reguarding this man

[MentalAvenger]

It doesn’t really help since “The programme not available in your country”.

[MentalAvenger]

I can't even stand seeing the syringe sucking out my blood during blood examination , more so a surgery procedure .I was an EMT in California. It is amazing what you can get used to. I still watch the graphic operations on TV to keep myself from becoming squeamish. Besides, it is all so very interesting. I try to never pass up an opportunity to learn something new or experience something new or useful.

[Neverfly]

I was an EMT in California. It is amazing what you can get used to. I still watch the graphic operations on TV to keep myself from becoming squeamish. Besides, it is all so very interesting. I try to never pass up an opportunity to learn something new or experience something new or useful.

Yes, and with your mental control, you can block out the pain:p

[MentalAvenger]

Even if you honestly didn't know you didn't know who you were, what house would you go to? What job would you get? Where would you cash your checks? Wouldn't someone along that line ask a question that you couldn't satisfy, unless you were intending to decieve?
IMO, amnesia doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t make you stupid, you just forget some things. Unlike the TV dramas, the person that has amnesia may not even know it. To him, things may appear to be ok.

For instance, they said this guy was in Panama. Perhaps he used to live in Panama, and simply went home. No doubt there would be times when things didn’t exactly make sense, but then some people may go out of their way to hide the fact that there is something wrong with them. Maybe he was confused, but didn’t want people to think he was crazy. Otherwise, there is no reason he could not function normally.

[Noclevername]

Perhaps he used to live in Panama, and simply went home. No doubt there would be times when things didn’t exactly make sense, but then some people may go out of their way to hide the fact that there is something wrong with them. Maybe he was confused, but didn’t want people to think he was crazy. Otherwise, there is no reason he could not function normally.

Or he just made up a total cock-and-bull story and didn't research real amnesia when he did it, but just used the TV/popular version.

[MentalAvenger]

Yes, and with your mental control, you can block out the pain:pI doubt that. A point sources like a stitch, or a root canal is easy. I don’t think I could block out the pain of thousands of nerve endings being cut.

[KaiYeves]

I am very squeemish. In seventh grade I had Health the class before lunch. I had also just gotten a teething German Shepard, so I looked like something from a prison movie, very skinny and with scars on my arms and legs.

[Lianachan]

His wife has admitted the whole thing was a con, I heard her neighbour in Panama on Radio Scotland this afternoon saying she saw him there six months ago....... all seems pretty much cut and dried. Good old fashioned fraud, clumsily executed.

[MentalAvenger]

Do you have a link? I saw where she said she may have to pay it back, but I didn’t see where she said it was a con.

[Whirlpool]

I doubt that. A point sources like a stitch, or a root canal is easy. I don’t think I could block out the pain of thousands of nerve endings being cut.

One more thing , I still have this fear with the needles used by the dentist. But it doesn't mean I don't have my dental check-up regulary , it's just that , it's a dreaded feeling whenever I see my dentist .

[Whirlpool]

I was an EMT in California. It is amazing what you can get used to. I still watch the graphic operations on TV to keep myself from becoming squeamish. Besides, it is all so very interesting. I try to never pass up an opportunity to learn something new or experience something new or useful.

I can stand watching surgical operations over TV but NOT right before my very eyes! :eek:

Last month I rushed my son to the hospital in the middle of night , and as expected the ER is full of people . You know how an ER looks like with all these emergency activities. I strengthen myself not to pass out and concentrate on my baby condition (he underwent an appendectomy procedure).
It's like in the ER TV series, and in Greys Anatomy Show , but when you're really in that place , and see it firsthand , it's really different and the tension is HIGH.

[Maksutov]

I was an EMT in California. It is amazing what you can get used to. I still watch the graphic operations on TV to keep myself from becoming squeamish. Besides, it is all so very interesting. I try to never pass up an opportunity to learn something new or experience something new or useful.I was an EMT for the company I worked for back in the early 1970s. The product was aluminum cans. The stock was huge rolls of thin aluminum. Many machines were chain driven with no protection. Ditto with the drawing and ironing machines.

I dealt with many cases of severed limbs, digits, and deep gashes. We kept an ample supply of ice in the quality control lab so we could cold pack the severed body part in order to preserve it until it and its former owner both got to the emergency room.

Only had one death to deal with. A machine tech in the D&I department keeled over from a heart attack at his work station. He had been dead for a few minutes when I examined him. The D&I supervisor yelled at everyone to stop standing around and get back to work. So they worked with a corpse in their midst until we were able to get the appropriate personnel and authorities to remove it properly.

A lot of this was pre-OSHA.

[Kaptain K]

My father claimed that by the time he finished med school, he could perform an autopsy while eating a candy bar! :eek:

Squeamishness is learned behavior. It can be unlearned if the situation is right and/or the motivation is there.