A 68-year-old man lost nearly 40 years of memories after waking from a coma following a hit-and-run accident.
While the idea of losing decades of memories might sound like something from a TV drama, it became reality for Luciano D’Adamo, an Italian man involved in the 2019 incident. Upon regaining consciousness, the last memory he had was leaving his home in Rome back in 1980.
In the hospital, D’Adamo didn’t recognize his own son or wife, as he still believed he was engaged to his girlfriend from that time, with no recollection of his married life.
He struggled to accept how much he had aged when looking in the mirror and was confused by the mobile phone given to him, a technology that didn’t exist in 1980.
He also faced the emotional challenge of learning about his mother’s death and coming to terms with the changes that had happened to family and friends over the years.
D’Adamo expressed his amazement at modern advancements, such as cars equipped with GPS navigation.
He told Il Messaggero that he occasionally pretends to recognize people who greet him, assuming they might be old acquaintances. Despite his wife reminding him of past trips, he insists he has no memory of them. Since waking up, he has been working with doctors to relearn social skills and regain his lost memories.