23 years ago Su Meck lost her memories at age 22 from a head trauma.

Consider Su Meck. The 45-year-old homemaker from Gaithersburg graduated Friday from Montgomery College with an associate degree in music. It’s the culmination of a life that, in most senses of the word, began at 22.

So complete retrograde amnesia can happen in real life.

In February 1988, a ceiling fan fell on Meck’s head. The blow erased her memory, and she awoke after a week in a coma with the mental capacity of a young child. She no longer knew her husband or her two baby sons. She barely spoke and could not read or write, walk or eat, dress or drive.

Imagine trying to come back from that. For weeks she could not even form new memories. Even today she learns slowly. So her memory formation circuitry is damaged.

Read the whole thing. Inspiring and yet scary.