the man with the 7-second memory

the other night, i watched a documentary on CBC's "The Passionate Eye" called "The Man with the 7-second memory"...
"Clive Wearing has one of the worst cases of amnesia in the world. Once a renowned conductor and musician, Clive was struck down in 1985 byEncephalitis, which caused massive damage to his brain.Doctors battled to save his life but he was left with a memory that spans just seven seconds. "It's like being dead . . . one long night with no thoughts, no dreams. There’s no difference between day and night, I haven’t been conscious in 20 years."The only person Clive recognizes is his wife, Deborah, who had been married to him just 18 months when he became ill. The illness has meant they have had to spend the last 20 years of their marriage living apart."

the interesting thing was that...although clive cannot remember anything before his accident or after (concrete memories or people), he recognized deborah everytime he saw her. he knew who she was even though he had no "memory" of her...somewhere, dwelling within him, is this complete recognition of her...this recognition of love, i suppose. trying to put myself in her shoes was another thing that really affected me...can you imagine being with a man who no longer remembers all the memories you've created together? the life that you've lead together...the children that you've raised? she said at one point that she is a widow to a man who is still alive...

the sheer redemptive nature of love can burn us from the inside, fueling us to keep on going in this life. even under these extreme circumstances...deborah and clive's relationship still remains intact. the love between them hasn't died despite a complete wipe-out of any memories. strange that the disease has afflicted his mind, but not his heart. the connection that they have is something deeper than memories...something that transcends time. it's love...on a whole other dimension.

needless to say, i was moved.