By. Anuradha
Steve and Camre’s love began 10 years ago. They were quite the ideal lovers and had a great time together. When Camre was expecting a child, they were more than excited to welcome the new member to their family. However, things didn’t turn out in the way they wanted.
During her childbirth, Camre lost her memory and she couldn’t remember any of the things happened earlier. She couldn’t even recognize Steve which made him more than miserable. However, instead of losing faith Steve resolved to write a book to help her wife remember things. The book named “But I know I love you” is filled with their memories.
The saddest thing is that until the third trimester of Camre’s pregnancy, there was no sign of an illness. Then, only 33 weeks into her pregnancy, Camre’s throat began to swell up, causing difficulty breathing. Steve rushed her to the hospital, and Camre went into a grand mal seizure.
Image Credit & More Info: But I Know I Love You | facebook | Steve Curto
After the successful C-section that doctors managed to perform, baby Gavin was born, weighing a little over four pounds. Unfortunately, after the seizure, Camre suffered a cataclysmic stroke which affected both sides of her brain. According to her occupational therapist, Jessica Smith, her memory was completely wiped out.
Camre got to read the book but unfortunately, she doesn’t still remember any of those memories they had. Camre in an interview for Good Morning America mentioned that,
Everything in the book is a memory of what we’ve gone through and what I’ve missed. I enjoy [reading] it very much, but right now with everything, it’s kind of mixed feelings.
Sometimes it’s hard for me because it shows me everything that we have been through and that I don’t have inside of me.”
A therapist at Galaxy Brain and Therapy Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Jessica Smith told ABC News that,
“She couldn’t recall memories before her brain injury and she can’t remember short-term memories now. What happened to her is extremely rare.”
After she gave birth to little Gavin, Camre spent 30 days at the hospital. Meanwhile, her baby was in the NICA for 36 days due to being prematurely born.
Later, Camre was underdiagnosed with preeclampsia – a pregnancy-related high blood pressure condition that reduces blood flow to the fetus. She went into eclampsia caused by the stroke she had. The 31-year-old mother was intubated and put in a medically-induced coma.
Talking about this incident Steve said that,
“When they brought her out of the coma, and she started to wake up, something wasn’t right. She had no idea who she was or that she had just given birth. She didn’t know who I was or who her parents were.
I lived at the hospital. They want the child to bond with the mom after birth but Camre wasn’t able to bet there, so I did skin-to-skin with him and did all the feedings.”
One night, after recalling a conversation they had, Steve’s focus was re-framed and he was determined to make things work. He remembered his wife saying “I don’t know who you are but I know I love you.” He shares:
“That has always stuck with me. That has been the driving force behind everything.
When I met Camre, she made me want to be a better person and that’s what I loved about her. Then this happened and I just wasn’t going to give up hope that we could regain what we had. This girl has no idea who I am but she loves me and we’re going to make this work.”
Happily, Camre is making huge progress. Thanks to constantly jotting things down, role-playing conversations over and over, and sharing a calendar on her phone with Steve, she remembers both her husband and her son.
However, it wasn’t always easy for them. Camre realized she lost her memory about two years after she gave birth. This was an extremely painful moment for her. She has also been suffering from epilepsy and frequent seizures, having to take multiple medications.
According to her therapist, now it’s all about getting her confidence back.
When you first meet her and you’re talking with her, she’s really funny and good at playing it off and you don’t know initially that she’s had this significant diagnosis. One of the things that she always tells me that it’s extremely difficult to not remember your son’s first steps or the first time he said ‘Momma,’ because that’s really what moms talk about sometimes.”
Camre also said that,
“With my husband and son with me, that is what is getting me through all this. Every time I see Gavin and Steve, there’s a huge smile on my face and inside me. The love of family is what means the most and what is getting me through every day.
No matter how hard things are or have been and can be, you just have to give yourself hope and keep going, taking each day at a time. I just tell myself everything is going to be okay and I move toward that.”
We wish she would soon remember everything and get well!
