Di man wey wake up for future: Tori of doctor wey forget 12 years of im life after accident put am for coma

BBC News

04-07-2025

Dr Pierdante Piccioni na unwilling time traveller. Twelve years of im life dey completely wiped from im memory afta in suffer brain damage for one motor accident for 2013.
Wen im wake up for hospital di next day, im bin tink say na 2001 and no fit recognise im wife or im now adult sons.
Di whole tin shock am, and now, im no fit practice medicine again, Pierdante - wey pipo close to am sabi as Pier - dey try find the man wey im bin be before.
Searching through thousands of emails im discover say im get dark side.
Im experience dey so exceptional, so tey e jinja dem to do one Italian TV show about one young doctor wey dem shoot and – similar to Pier - wey lose 12 years of im memory.
On 31 May 2013, Pier regain consciousness.
Im bin dey lie down for di hospital emergency ward wey im bin dey manage before for Italian city of Lodi.
"Di first tin I bin see na white light - and na di light of di emergency room wia my colleagues put me afta di accident. I remain for coma [for] about six hours and wen I wake up, I see only di eyes of my colleagues.
"Wen dem ask, 'Wetin be di date today?' I tink [for] five, six seconds, and I ansa, 'Today na 25th of October 2001."
Den im see im colleague dey type inside iPad.
Dis na wetin bin dey exist back in 2001, wen di only tin wey phone fit do na just to make calls, send text messages and receive basic news updates.
But di biggest revelation neva still happun dat time.
"Dem ask me, 'You wan see your wife?'"
"Of course: 'I wan 'see my wife', I reply.
"And for my mind, I expect my wife [to enter di room], but 12 years younger. But di woman wey enta di room no resemble my wife, but] someone like her. She get plenty wrinkles."
Pier also get to come to terms wit im children growing up and turning into adults.
"I ask dem, who you be? Wia my children? Becos I no believe say [dem be] my sons."
Dem, im wife break di shocking news to am: im "mama", wey bin dey very healthy for im own mind, bin die three years ago.
"Wen I bin wake up, I bin feel say I dey 53 years old. During di day, I discover and realise say I dey 65."
Dark prince
Digging through evidence of wetin bin hapun during di twelve years wey delete from im memory, Pier shock to find out say im bin no always be nice man during dat period.
"I ask my friends, my colleagues, my wife, which kain man I bin be. Good man or bad?
"My colleagues tell me say, wen I become chief (head) of my emergency department and I get about 230 [wey dey work] below me."
Dem get one disturbing way wey dem take dey refer to am.
"My nickname be di Prince of Bastards."
Pier - wey dem also sabi as Doc at work - say e dey impossible to believe dis, becos im no ever tink of imsef as bad pesin before.
"Dem tell me, 'You dey very, very dark. You dey very strong... but too hard wit oda pipo.'"
Pier missing years: Discovering im true self
As Pier learn about how di world take move on during im missing years, im go look for im true sef to dey revealed inside im correspondence - letters.
"I read all di emails - [dem bin dey] more dan 76,000 - to try understand who I bin be... For some emails, I get to [acknowledge] say e get one bad man, one bad chief, one serious pesin.
Im say im find out say wetin im colleagues bin tok na true: "I bin dey very, very sad wen I read those emails."
So, Pier decide to become nicer person.
"I start to write diary every day. I write wetin I feel - important or [boring] tins of my day or my life.
"I be wrong man in wrong time. Dat no be my time.
"I bin dey like foreign pesin for world wey I no understand. I feel say I dey alone. [I feel like say] nobody bin understand me."
Pier enta dark place.
"I bin feel [alone] for a long time. Becos my mama don die, [e bin feel like] my children die.
"So why continue to live? I tink of suicide during those moments, becos dis [bin no feel like] my world."
But Pier find way to lift imsef from im negative tinking.
'Fall in love again'
Pier bin dey work 15 to 16 hours a day before di car accident wey cost am 12 years of im memory.
Im wife say afta im become head of emergency department, im bin dey hardly ever come home.
"She tell me, 'I no really know if you get girlfriend or [maybe] more dan one... becos you [be] workaholic'."
Pier decide to rekindle im position as husband afta im realise say im don fall for im wife all over again as soon as im wake up from im short coma.
"Wen my wife turn to [waka comot from di room] I look her [from behind]. I bin feel in love. E bin dey, wow, nice."
Im say, to am, she bin no feel like di same pesin wey im remember.
"I tink I be di only man wey fit say: 'I don betray my wife wit my wife'. Becos she bin be like anoda pesin and I fall in love [wit her all over] again."
Pier say im new reality dey bright and full of hope.
"I dey proud not only for my personal [journey], but... to make new, beautiful memories all over di world.
"Dis na my mantra."