The Unbelievable Story of Amnesiac Benjaman Kyle

///FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Do you know this man? He is called Benjaman Kyle.  In 2004, he was discovered unconscious behind a fast food restaurant in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He had no belongings, had a severe sunburn, and was nearly blind from cataracts. He also had absolutely no idea who he was. After months of ongoing evaluation from doctors and psychologists it was determined he was suffering from dissociative amnesia. For the past 8 years - despite the efforts of fingerprint matching, DNA tests, and exposure on television - no one was able to identify him.  He is the only citizen in the United States officially listed as missing despite his whereabouts being known. 

His story really touched my heart.  It made me wonder about the importance of memories in the definition of oneself and if hell wasn't a place on earth.  The poor man is aware that he doesn't know who he is and that no one is looking for him.  Is there anything worse?  Yes. Not having a social security number is the worst thing that can happen to you.  No social security number, no job, no apartment.  The government will not give him a new one because he already has one - from his past life.  So he is homeless. Such a sad and terrible story.  

My thoughts are with him.  May God help him. - Marie Trepanier

For more info, visit www.FindingBenjaman.com

The portrait of Benjaman Kyle above was made by artist Miguel Endara using stippling - a tedious technique which involves a pen, patience, and an obscene amount of dots. The portrait took nearly 138 hours to complete, and at a rate of 4.25 dots per second, he estimates the piece contains roughly 2.1 millions of them. The hope is to spread awareness for Bengaman’s plight and to help raise money through the sale of prints. 

Via here