The case of the lost sailor is really fascinating, although it was a real tragedy for his protagonist, he talks about one of the many consequences that alcoholism can have on cognitive functions, in some cases these aftermath do not appear in the short term, but they occur over time.
The protagonist in the case of the lost sailor was a man named Jimmie G. He is described as intelligent, friendly, cheerful and who likes to speak, at first glance this did not seem to have any particularity, his humor was calm and affable. .
- He arrived at a nursing home with an enigmatic commentary.
- Which did not seem to match him.
- The note described him as “impotent.
- Crazy.
- Confused and disoriented.
- ” so it was obvious that he needed to be treated by a neurologist.
- I had the opportunity to meet Dr.
- Oliver Sacks.
- Someone particularly sensitive and open.
“Memory is the sentinel of the brain. ” ? William Shakespeare?
The first consultation was initiated completely normally, Jimmie G. spoke of his past with great joy and enthusiasm.
He had been a radio operator in the Navy and was an understudy on the submarines, a subject that made him proud and brought him wonderful memories.
The protagonist of the lost sailor’s case had an extensive white hair, responded with remarkable precision to the data relating to his hometown and even offered to map the place, also spoke fondly about his place of origin, his school, his taste for mathematics, and even remembered his childhood phone numbers.
What excited him most was talking about his experiences in the navy and recounting the missions he had completed, he would like to continue working there, but prefers to go to college.
The neurologist noticed something special in the way he referred to the past. When Jimmie talked about childhood, he used the verb in the past, but in reference to the navy, he spoke of the present.
When the neurologist noticed this peculiarity, by simple intuition, he asked Jimmie what year it was. The patient was very surprised by the question and, of course, replied, “In 1945. “He added, “We won the war. “
Faced with this curious response, Dr. Sacks questioned his age. Once again surprised, Jimmie answered 19 years.
It was obvious Jimmie was confused. Then, in an unthinkable impulse, the neurologist took a mirror and placed it in front of him, wanted the man to see with his own eyes that he had white hair, wrinkles on his face and that he was definitely not young.
Although Dr. Sacks was eager to confront him with his mistake, the effect was surprising; Jimmie was surprised and didn’t believe what he saw; thought it was a joke or a nightmare; he also wondered if he was crazy. For him, the image in the mirror does not correspond to the image he makes of himself.
The neurologist understood his mistake and deviat the conversation to other topics, made Jimmie forget about the mirror and the mirror image, then the doctor had to leave for a while.
On his return, Jimmie was totally unable to recognize him, it was as if he had never seen him in his life, which gave Sacks the key to getting an idea of what was going on.
The lost sailor’s case is related to a problem called “anusgrade amnesia. “This problem is related to the inability to store short-term memories. You remember everything that happened before amnesia, but you don’t remember what happened five minutes ago. That’s what happened to Jimmie.
Upon learning of his past, he discovered that Jimmie had been an alcoholic for many years, which damaged his brain and created a problem called Korsakov syndrome.
Any alcoholic can suffer from this problem, because alcohol alters the metabolism of vitamin B1 and this ends up affecting the central nervous system.
The case of the lost sailor is not only a neurological rarity, but also a human tragedy, having no short-term memory is having no life, memory is a fundamental part of our identity and not storing memories immerses us in a limbo where time does not pass.