Sweden here I come, said amnesia struck Michael Boatwright, a veteran from the Navy who had landed up in Florida under mysterious circumstances six month ago has taken flight. Its Sweden for the gentleman, folks!
Struck by amnesia
Well, this is the story of an amnesia struck, 61 year old, Michael Boatwright, who six months ago on Feb 28th had been found in a faint state at a motel room in Palm Springs. From there he was taken to a local hospital in Palm Springs.
The doctors were astonished when he woke up, called himself by the name of Johan Ek, and said that he had no idea how to speak in English, because of his lost memory. The medical fraternity kept him at the hospital for almost 5 months and diagnosed his condition as amnesia till they could find out a safe way to let him go.
The reports by the Desert Sun show that just a few days before he was discovered unconscious in his Palm Springs motel room, Boatwright had arrived from China by air. It was presumed that one of his friends had purchased his air ticket. Is unrequited love responsible for all this ? Maybe, say the dailies! They say that the Navy veteran was depressed over his ex-wife’s remarriage and was now a destitute. He had great hopes of being employed as a tennis coach but his hopes had been shattered.
Action by the Department of Veterans Affairs
The officials at the Hospital confirmed that Boatwright’s family could not keep him and the Department of Veterans Affairs, had also refused inpatient care for Boatwright’s case.
Just on the outskirts of Palm Springs, lies a homeless shelter by the name of Roy’s Desert Resource Center, which is under the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, Boatwright landed there in early August and stayed there for nearly two weeks. It was CNN who spoke about Boatwright’s flight to an airport in Gothenburg, Sweden. Boatwright’s ticket had been bought by the Department of Mental Health, Riverside County, Calif..
Ewa Espling, one of his past female associations met him at the airport. Sources state that in the mid 80’s the two had a relationship for about 3 years and had also made some marriage plans that had not worked out. The confused man had admitted piteously ““Walk in my shoes for one day. You’ll experience the nightmare of a lifetime.”
In some cases the Mental Health Department grabs travel tickets for the people who are homeless and have no family back up to lean on, but this funding has mostly been done with destitute people in California , according to Jerry Wengerd, director of the Riverside County Department of Mental Health.
Lack of resources, “no alternatives to homelessness,” was the reason why Boatwright’s case was taken as an unusual incident according to Wengerd. They had no option but send the elderly man to Sweden.
Boatwright has a few connections in Sweden for sure and they may remember him even if he has no memory of them. The ticket was purchased for this American citizen after reassurances were made that the veteran would be offered proper access to medical treatment and a place to stay at.
Wengerd was heard stating “We were satisfied he was not going to nowhere. He was going to where he wanted to go and to be with people he wanted to be with.”
