This is the story of Henry, usually referred to in medical journals as "H.M.", who for over fifty years lived with anterograde amnesia, a form of profound memory loss which prevents new events from reaching his long-term memory.
If that condition sounds familiar, it might be because you saw the 2000 film Memento, in which the main character was afflicted with more or less the same ailment.
Henry's form of amnesia presented itself after he underwent experimental brain surgery in 1953 in an effort to control his frequent grand mal seizures. The removal of his hippocampi prevented him from being able to form new memories. For him, it was as if it was still 1953. He was stricken with grief anew each time he learned of his mother's death.
He passed away on December 2nd of this year. Damn Interesting has a more complete story.
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