I (M22) recently suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) and I have developed prosopagnosia (face blindness).
I am able to vaguely recognize my immediate family, but it’s near impossible for me to recognize anyone else unless I remember other distinctive cues about their appearance (such as a unique hair color or accessory.)
This has been really hard on me, and I’ve been hospitalized for the past two weeks (for other medical reasons related to my TBI).
I texted my girlfriend (F21) to explain my condition to her and linked her some articles on it. She insisted on visiting me since she hadn’t seen me since I was hospitalized.
When she came into my room, I wasn’t sure whether she was my cousin (my cousin had planned on visiting too), a nurse, or my girlfriend. She didn’t say anything to introduce herself, so I asked her “can you tell me who you are?”
When she replied, I could hear that she was extremely mad and I recognized her voice as my girlfriend’s. She said “are you for real? You don’t recognize me?” I told her that I physically cannot recognize her, and she started crying about how that means she wasn’t important enough to recognize and a whole lot of other stuff.
I was honestly hurt that she was upset with me over a medical condition that I recently acquired and am struggling with. This has changed the entire course of my life and caused me so much emotional pain already, not to mention the other trauma I sustained from my accident.
If she had read my explanation I texted her or the articles I sent she would understand that my ability to recognize her has nothing to do with my care for her. She got upset at me for not apologizing to her, but I refused and told her to leave me alone and go home.