American Woman W/ Retrograde Cancer-induced Amnesia Wakes To Aussie Accent & Visions Of Oz

[Forensicwx]

Social media users rally to identify Aussie woman in US with amnesia
The mystery surrounding "Sam", a woman who could be an Australian suffering from amnesia in California, continues.

This is despite a media and social media storm that has circulated the blonde woman's face around the world.

The FBI and Australian authorities, along with Interpol, are working to identify the woman who was found in Carlsbad, near San Diego, on February 1, according to her supporters.

"We would like to thank everyone for sharing this story," a recent post on a Facebook page set up to identify the woman says.

....

Little is known about the woman, who appears to speak in an Australian accent and recalls swimming at Perth's Cottlesloe Beach, Sydney's Bondi Beach, Cairns, Byron Bay and Hawaii.

"All of my initial dreams had to do with a lap pool swimming in a salt water pool in Perth, then Icebergs in New South Wales and in Cairns in Queensland and Byron Bay," Sam said in a post on the Facebook page.

The woman, aged about 50, with brown eyes, was in dire health when discovered in Carlsbad, near San Diego, and was taken to a hospital by fire department paramedics.

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which is thought to have caused her to have retrograde amnesia.

"She cannot recall her name or names of any family or friends," the Facebook page states.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/...-users-rally-identify-aussie-woman-us-amnesia

Five months after showing up in a San Diego-area emergency room without any recollection of her name, age, family, or friends, a woman who calls herself “Sam” has finally rediscovered who she is as she continues to battle cancer.

Ashley Manetta, 53, never married and has sisters in Colorado and Maryland. She was born in Pennsylvania, lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, and several years ago found her way to Southern California, where she lived in La Jolla, Vista, and Carlsbad.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...a-Mystery-Solved-311262611.html#ixzz3ehtSCzdN

 

[cubby]

Ashley Manetta, 53, never married and has sisters in Colorado and Maryland. She was born in Pennsylvania, lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, and several years ago found her way to Southern California, where she lived in La Jolla, Vista, and Carlsbad.

I've heard of people who have some kind of trauma and wake up with amnesia and speaking with a different accent, but why would she have memories of Australia if she's never been there. So strange.

But glad they figured her out, would have been awful to die not knowing who you are.

 

[MC30]

so off, and yeah, whatever.... now that she knows, i mean KNOWS, does she still have the accent?

 

[MC30]

i suppose my point was, i have heard of people having amnesia after many things. however, i have never heard of someone that had proof of whom they are. i just wonder about the accent. i have had head trauma, and it affects everyone differently. i am just really curious about this. mine just made me want to eat 24/7 until it fairly healed itself (yes, i do now get hungry like most people do)...however, for about 5 months, you could not keep me away from food. it was though i was never full and ALWAYS hungry. i knew i had an injury, and that made it suck even more. but man, i was a cereal killer.

 

[MC30]

hey, half of my brain dripped into my neck. its called a battles sign. no wonder i was hungry!

 

[DamagedGoods]

My theory is that she already knew or suspected she had cancer, but couldn't afford treatment... however if they treat her for it while she's got amnesia, she can't legally agree to pay the bill. It also brings massive attention to her plight, and thus probably a lot of support, even if she did lie. A woman who somehow ended up with an australian accent and amnesia due to cancer? That's news, unique, interesting. A middle-aged. single, everyday American with cancer? That's not remotely unique or interest worthy in comparison.

 

[Krystal]

Well now I feel better about what I was thinking of this one.

Basically @DamagedGoods hit the nail on the head, but more politely than I ever manage to say.

 

[JackBurton]

She's either a nutbag or a con artist, likely both.

 

[Muriel Schwenck]

If it is true, sounds like she has Foreign Accent Syndrome. It's not like sufferers really have the real accent, it's how the hearers perceive it. For example, an Aussie would say it sounds like an American attempting an Aussie accent. Which makes sense. Meanwhile, the sufferer is aware of their changed speech patterns, it does not feel natural to them.
It is also extremely rare. This may be a fascinating combination of medical problems that deserve all our sympathy and interest.
OR... it may be a much less rare syndrome: this woman is mentally imbalanced, desperate for help, and conning the medical establishment into treating her.
I'm really interested to hear more facts.

 

[DamagedGoods]

I have a lot more sympathy for someone who tries to con people so that they can get their potentially fatal disease treated than for people who try to con people by pretending to have said disease. .

 

[Muriel Schwenck]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesth...ed-this-woman-with-cancer-sufferin#.wmv8XqLyl

All the media attention paid off. The woman has been identified by her family. Her name is Ashley Manetta, originally from Pennsylvania. Her family lost track of her after she moved to Southern California a couple years ago. She has visited Australia a few times. She seems to have moved a lot in her adult life.
Seems like no one in California -friend or employer - ever reported her missing.
I remember a news item in my area where a young Asian man was found unconscious on a street, suspected hit and run victim. He had no ID. He was in a hospital for months, unable to speak. very slowly recovering. Authorities thought he might be a tourist. He was featured on a national TV show, and someone recognized him. He was a local resident and his family lived only a couple miles from the hospital! He had been reported missing, but no one ever connected the right dots to find him.