[Faline]

American Michael Boatwright has left doctors baffled after waking up speaking only SWEDISH.

The 61-year-old had been found unconscious in a California motel with no memory of his past.

When he opened his eyes in a medical centre he called himself Johan Ek and spoke just Swedish.

Despite extensive enquiries, police were unable to contact any relatives or find anything out about Mr Boatwright, according to the Desert Sun newspaper.

They believe he may have been in the area for a tennis tournament, though, as he had several rackets on him when he was found.

Mr Boatwrighht, who is said to be in good health, told the paper: "Sometimes it makes me really sad and sometimes it just makes me furious about the whole situation and the fact that I don't know anybody, I don't recognise anybody."

[ak74]

watched too much Wallander

[Megamel29]

"Sometimes it makes me really sad and sometimes it just makes me furious about the whole situation and the fact that I don't know anybody, I don't recognise anybody."

Did he say that in Swedish? Did he know Swedish before? Why was he in the hospital in the first place?

[Megamel29]

Michael Boatwright's driver's license says he was born in Florida, but after waking up from a hospital bed in Palm Springs, Calif., all he can speak is Swedish.

MyDesert.com has a new in-depth report on Boatwright, who was found unconscious in a motel room on February 28. He has no memory of his life and only responds to the name "Johan Ek."

Doctors have diagnosed Boatwright with Transient Global Amnesia, a disorder in which patients are unable to form new memories.

Medical personnel also believe Boatwright is in a dissociative fugue state, wherein a person forgets their past and can sometimes take on a new personality.

Boatwright, who appears to have lived in Sweden for much of his life, has an online portfolio that says he got a bachelors from Michigan State and Masters from Stockholm University.

It's unclear if Boatwright's symptoms will be temporary, but similar conditions make headlines with regularity.

Two months ago, the Telegraph reported on a man with "Walking Corpse Syndrome" who thought he was dead.

And, unlike Boatwright who likely spoke Swedish before he found himself in the California hospital, Englishman Alun Morgan woke up from a stroke last December to discover he could only speak Welsh, a language he never formally learned
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3599573.html

[THELORDABORTION]

[McLovin510]

[Darkest Angel]

Amazing!



Better than waking up dead.

[kellyhound]

there are some strange medical conditions in this world. would freak me out not knowing anything about myself.

[Pollucy]

Roughly translated from Swedish news article (http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article17136054.ab):

The mystery of the Swedish speaking man in the hospital is solved.
Michael Boatwright is an American that lived in Sweden for longer periods in the 80's and 90's. Back then he was better known as Strongbow – the tournament knight.

Olle Sahlin had a shock when he turned on his computer yesterday.
- The first thing I saw was Michaels face. No one had heard from him in over 15 years, he says.
It was in the middle of the 80's that Olle Sahlin got to know the American Michael Boatwright. They met through the interest they both had in common; jousting. To his friends Michael Boatwright was mostly known as Strongbow – an alias he used when he strapped on his sword and dressed up in armor.

Spoke decent Swedish
Michael Boatwright was, despite claiming otherwise, born in Florida in 1952. He came to Sweden from USA in the earlier part of the 80's, according to the population register he immigrated as early as 1981 and he went on to live preferably in Sweden up until 1989. After that he lived in periods of four years abroad before he eventually emigrated permanently in 2003.

Aftonbladet has been in contact with several of Boatwright's old acquaintances from back in the medieval social circle times. All of them confirm that he is an American and no one has ever heard about the name Johan Ek that he now uses.

He already spoke pretty decent Swedish back then. We had brief contact in the late 90's when he moved for the last time, says Olle Sahlin.

Johan Cassel from the medieval organisation Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) remembers Michael Boatwright as a very active member.
- We had tournaments by foot and he was there with armour and all. Then he disappeared and was gone for a couple of years, says Johan Cassel.

Was in the ”real” Ultimathule
Michael Boatwright was a part of the tournament team Ultimathule during the late part of the 80's. The team was forced to change their name in order to not be associated with the viking rockers with the same name and after that they were known as Swedish Jousting Team. As the years went by, Boatwright became less engaged and after leaving Sweden the first time, many didn't stay in touch with the American jouster. But even before he moved from Sweden there were a lot of questions. Several thought that he was really Australian and few know how he provided for himself.
- I'm a little unsure of that, actually. But on the other hand, it wasn't that interesting. When you do this you tend to shut off everything else, everyday stuff, says Olle Sahlin.
Could he have provided for himself as a knight?
- Part time, he could have, definitely.

Moved around in Sweden
Michael Boatwright lived in several different places in the country. According to Ingela Mauritsson, for a while in the 90's he lived in Skåne, where he worked as a personal assistant alongside with keeping up his big passion: tournaments.
- He was like one in the family but we lost contact. A good judge of character as well as a very restless soul, says Ingela Mauritsson.
Boatwright used to borrow a horse from her family but since he left the country they lost contact with the American.

Mysterious life in Asia
What happened in Michael Boatwright's life after he emigrated from Sweden in 2003 is partly benighted. At the Company Agency (?) there's still a note about him having a sole company registered, but it has been inactive for a long time. According to Boatwright's own pages on the internet he travelled around a lot in Asia in periods, and lived several years in both Japan and China. But even if there are still a lot of questions, one thing is clear – Michael Boatwright is not the Swede Johan Ek.