She has an Australian accent and dreams about Perth. But this woman has no idea who she is.
UPDATE:
The missing woman known only as ‘Sam’ has been identified.
NBC News reports the woman is Ashley Menatta – a resident of San Diego in the United States.
Ms Menatta was identified by her nephew after he recognised her in a news story.
While Ms Menatta was initially believed to be Australian, her strong memories of the land down under were actually from regular holidays she took to Perth.
The 53-year-old told NBC News finding out her identity was “extremely emotional.”
Menatta will relocate to Maryland in the United States and live with her sister.
Mamamia previously reported…
‘Sam’ doesn’t know how she came to be in an American hospital with life-threatening cancer. In fact, she doesn’t know anything about her past. Doctors believe that her amnesia is associated with advanced ovarian cancer.
An Australian accent and memories of dining in Perth are some of the only clues to her identity.
Now, she asked the internet to help find out who she is.
“You see, I can’t remember how I got to the hospital (was by firefighters) or where I was before I came to be at the hospital. I was in dire condition when I arrived and was put in intensive care immediately,” Sam wrote on a Facebook page.
“The amnesia I have is called retro amnesia and doctors have seen this before with the kind of antibodies that were found on the volleyball sized tumour that was on my ovary. The doctors said it could have been growing for 5 years causing me to be forgetful of things.”
Top Comments
Does amnesia cause a person to use a fake accent? This lady is clearly pulling a fast one on everybody otherwise why the need to put on a poorly done accent?
there are several well documented cases where a person waking up from a head injury has spoken with a different accent, or a different language - the brain can do very bizarre things at times.
Bizarre things like con people for attention and sympathy?
Brain injury and trauma causing retro amnesia are quite real.
My father has had this condition for almost 20 years. He doesn't remember my childhood nor much of my current life circumstances despite the fact that I live with and care for him.
He has gotten up some mornings and thought it was a different decade, month or even season of the year.
He doesn't remember the deaths of his mother or mine. He doesn't know his grandchildren's names - including the two that live with him.
It's a truly unforgiving and frightening condition for the sufferer and their families.
Compassion and basic information are available to everyone.