When Edneide Melo woke up in a hospital room completely disoriented, she saw a man sitting beside her who looked familiar. But not in the way she expected.
“What is the guy from my job interview doing here?” she recalls thinking. Her first assumption was that she had been in a car accident on her way back from the office she had applied to work in. Then, as she looked around, she realised something was very wrong.
She did not recognise the hospital, her phone, or even her own reflection in the mirror. Her hands felt different, older. Her body, once lean and youthful, had changed in ways she couldn’t immediately comprehend.
When her companion told her they were married, she thought it was a joke. When she demanded to see her parents, they arrived looking much older than she remembered. It was jarring: her mother’s hair was streaked with gray, and her father’s features were more lined than in her memories.
The hospital room in Santo André, Brazil, the sterile smell, the medical equipment surrounding her – it all felt alien. Even the technology seemed off. She reached for her phone, expecting to see the chunky device she remembered, but instead, she was handed a sleek, thin one she didn’t know how to unlock.
And when doctors asked her who the president of their country was, she confidently answered: “Lula” – but the year was 2017, and Lula had been out of office for six years.
Edneide had lost 14 years of her memory, and recounted her terrifying story in an hour-long episode of Radio Novelo Apresenta, a Portuguese-language podcast from her native country.
The last thing Edneide recalled was being a 25-year-old mechanical engineering student in 2003, working in IT solely for financial reasons. She was engaged to another man and looking forward to getting married, graduating, and starting a life she had planned.
She had met Thiago, the man sitting beside her hospital bed, only once – at a job interview for a technical support role. She had no recollection of marrying him, having a daughter, or building a new career.
Before the memory loss, 39-year-old Edneide (nicknamed Neide by friends and family) had undergone routine surgery to remove nasal polyps. It was her fourth such procedure and had never caused complications before.
However, shortly after waking from anesthesia, she complained of an excruciating headache. Her husband, Thiago, grew increasingly concerned as she reported worsening pain, but the medical staff dismissed it as discomfort from post-surgical nasal packing.
Within hours, Neide lost consciousness. When she woke up, she had regressed to 2003.
Doctors initially diagnosed her with postoperative cognitive dysfunction, a rare reaction to general anesthesia. They assured her family that her memory would return within 30 days. It didn’t.
Months later, after further medical evaluation, a neurologist discovered she had a genetic mutation called Factor V Leiden , a condition that increases the risk of blood clots. The likely cause of her memory loss was an undiagnosed stroke (AVC) triggered during or after surgery. Her family was shocked to find that this diagnosis had been noted in her medical records, but never disclosed to them at the hospital.
When Neide was discharged, she was taken to a home she did not recognise, to live with a husband and daughter she did not remember.
Her parents, who she longed to return to, had moved out of their old home years ago and insisted she stay with the family she built. But to her, Thiago was a stranger, and their 13-year-old daughter, Natália, was just “the girl”.
“The hardest part was that I didn’t feel like her mother,” Neide admitted. “I knew what motherhood was supposed to be, but I had no connection with her.”
Everything in the house was foreign. The furniture, the decor, the clothes hanging in her closet – none of it belonged to her, at least not in her mind. She struggled with technology, confused by a world where televisions no longer had bulky backs and music no longer played from CDs but from invisible streaming services.
Thiago tried to help her rebuild her life. Friends showed her photos, videos, and even played her wedding tape to help jog her memory. Instead, it only deepened her frustration. She explained: “People kept trying to force my past on me. I felt trapped in a life I didn’t choose.”
Natália, only 13 at the time, was forced to adapt quickly. “Overnight, I went from having a super protective mother to having to guide her,” she said. “I had to teach her how to use a microwave, how to use the TV. It was like taking care of a child.”
For months, Neide struggled with depression, frustration, and even thoughts of leaving her new life behind. At one point, she considered moving back to her hometown in the state of Pernambuco. However, with the support of her friends, she decided to stay and attempt to adapt.
Therapy became essential for both her and her daughter. Through counseling, Neide learned coping strategies, while Natália learned how to deal with the emotional distance between them.
A breakthrough came when their therapist suggested getting a dog. The arrival of Conan, a small Spitz, became a turning point.
“He became my emotional anchor,” said Neide. “Today, I don’t go anywhere without him.”
Neide’s relationship with Thiago remained one of the biggest challenges. While Thiago remained patient, he struggled with watching his wife, who had once loved him, now treat him as a stranger. “It was like mourning someone who was still alive,” he said.
For years, their marriage was uncertain. Neide contemplated leaving multiple times but stayed because she had nowhere else to go. Over time, as she built new memories, her perception of Thiago changed.
“People would tell me, ‘You married him for a reason,’ but I couldn’t see it,” she said. “It took years for me to truly see him as my partner again.”
They eventually moved to a new apartment to help her feel more in control of her environment. The shift helped, and slowly, their bond grew.
Seven years after the incident, Neide’s memory has never returned. As of 2025, she has accepted that those 14 years are lost forever.
She rebuilt her career, returning to her role as a director in Human Resources. She rekindled her relationship with Thiago, though she admits it’s different from before. “Do I love him? Yes, but in a different way than I did before,” she said. “Before, it was passion. Now, it’s companionship.”
Today, their family has found a new balance. The relationship between mother and daughter remains complex, but stronger than it was in those first painful years.
“It’s not perfect, but it’s ours,” said Natália. “And that’s enough.” For Neide, the biggest lesson has been one of resilience: “I opened my eyes, and Thiago was there,” she said. “That was my reality. And I have to learn to live with it.”
Neide has published a book about her life story: Ao Abrir Meus Olhos (Portuguese for “When I Opened My Eyes”), and has been featured in two major podcasts in her home country.
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