Imagine that you are an accomplished musicologist and conductor, confident in your outstanding abilities and successful in your career; an acknowledged expert.
Then one particular day, you contract a cold virus, nothing new in that, you think. But, the virus causes a brain infection and suddenly, your memory is deleted and your ability to make new memories is catastrophically impaired.
This scenario above happened to Clive Wearing in 1985. Every moment he is awake, it is like he just woke up. His memory span is only a few seconds.
In the beginning, Mr Wearing began keeping a journal. Every few minutes, he would write the time and then the words, "This time properly awake", crossing out the same words that he had written only minutes before.
It was like he was trying to assert his existence and find himself. But his memory span was only a few seconds and Mr Wearing could never find any continuity of self. In those few seconds of consciousness, he thought that he had been dead and somehow woken up.
In a diary provided by his caretakers, Wearing was encouraged to record his thoughts. Page after page is filled with entries similar to the following:
Tragically. Mr Wearing remembered his wife and his love for her. Why tragic you ask? Well, because, every few minutes, it was like he saw her for the first time, after the horrifying experience of not knowing what had happened to him and being surrounded by strangers, in a place he did not know. Minute after minute, during a hospital visit, he would react with extreme passion, love and distress.
The scars on his brain and damage to his memory, however, enabled Mr Wearing to retain some memories, but they were out of wack in many ways. He knew he was married, but couldn't describe his wife; he knew he had children, but thought they were much younger.
Strangely Mr Wearing also began to speak and write backwards, very skilfully and fast and showing that despite the brain damage, there is some wonderful wit and intelligence still thriving.
