Valentines with a twist.

[Wack]

Evening all, I went to my fairly new GF's house for lunch today despite not feeling well, not Covid (I did a PCR) or a cold coming on, I just felt odd. Arrived at midday as arranged and had a cup of tea. We were chatting away and she walked out of the front room, saying, "I'll be back in a second", nothing wrong with this, so I continued with my tea, a minute later she returned with a bag, handed it to me and said, "I've bought you something for Valentine's".
I felt stunned, very embarrassed and completely puzzled, I told her I couldn't accept as I didn't know what Valentine's is, she looked at me in a puzzled way and said, "of course you do", I shook my head and felt panicked. I really did not know what Valentine's was, my mind had gone blank and it scared me.
I do suffer from mempry loss from 2 seizures I had over 5 years ago, but there was/is nothing in my brain that relates to the 14th of February. She got her phone and showed me the date for tomorrow and what it means, but there was still nothing registering with me.
I felt truly awful and helpless, I said I was sorry and left the house to drive home, no doubt leaving her in a dreadful state.
I've spent the rest of the day in a very baffled state, I've looked at St Valentine's/February 14th on the laptop several times, but still nothing is registering or means anything to me, it's like my year only has 364 days and the one missing.
I feel like one horrible individual.

You really really really shouldn't be driving.

Perhaps you had a stroke, I’m not sure you should have driven.

I really think you should get checked out by a professional OP.

I have memory loss and other complications from my epilepsy. I've also had a mini stroke and this was similar to my experience of that.

This sounds like something complex if she directly showed you something and you couldn't process it when you can write very coherently and sound capable of understanding the concept.

Could you call your surgery tomorrow and ask to see your GP?

It would also be nice to message her in the meantime and say you're confused, not about your feelings for her, but about the way your brain responded today and so you're going to get some medical advice.

And please please please don't drive until you've been checked over by a medical professional.

So it’s not just that you didn’t attach Valentine’s Day to the date Feb 14th ? you have no knowledge of the tradition, remember seeing TV adverts, banners on web pages? Could you have lived somewhere the majority of your life where St Valentine’s Day isn’t celebrated?
If you feel this memory loss is related to feeling unwell then maybe see a GP ( if you can) or phone 111 for advice. Do you have any other symptoms of illness ( visual disturbance, headache, face dropped one side, slurred speech, unable to stick out your tongue, uneven smile , dizziness?)

You poor love. You sound so bewildered. That must have been horrible for you. As others have said, please don't drive until you've seen a doctor. Just in case as it won't hurt to get a check up?

Has anything else come up that you don't remember or is it just this? Talk to your partner and explain what happened.

Thank you all, I've had a very bad night, worried, scared and upset. I have had two seizures, but they were in late 2016 and have not suffered anymore since, but that's not to say it won't happen again. I had appointments with a neurologist soon after and he arranged x-rays and a scan. He discovered I'd had a bleed on the brain, but couldn't say whether the seizure had caused it or it had caused the seizure. It has affected my memory, but normally I'm fine and know what the date is and it's significance if important. My surgery opened at 8.30 and I called to make an appointment, which is at 11.50 this morning and walking distance from my home.
Fingers crossed it's a one off incident.

Good luck! I'm so sorry you're going through this. Please keep us updated. Involve your partner, they will want to support you.

I had my appointment with my doctor, who gave me a check over, he asked me my date of birth, several questions relating to me, then some about, history, sport, general knowledge etc and was happy with my answers. He told me given my history, there could be sporadic instances were my brain might have, "blips" and I suffer an instance when I go blank, have no memory of a day, event or circumstance.
He's writing to the neurologist at the hospital and has requested I do not drive for at least a month. He won't be informing the DVLA yet, but will have to if the neuro discovers anything or I have another event.
Fingers crossed I don't, all is well and I can return to driving or I'll be more or less house bound as I live in a small village with very poor public transport.

Something I did mention to my doctor, was where I have lost control of my bowels 3 times this year, he tells me it's vitally important I get to hopsital asap if it happens again, as it could be a condition called Cauda Equina and can lead to permanent damage to me, another worrying concern.