Katie Couric is opening up about a health scare that cost her several hours of memory she'll never get back. In a July 6 Substack post titled "The Day I'll Never Remember," the 69-year-old journalist detailed the episode, which doctors initially treated as a possible stroke before diagnosing her with transient global amnesia (TGA) - a rare, temporary loss of the ability to form new memories.
The incident happened June 27 in Aspen, Colorado. Couric said her last clear memory was grabbing a hot dog for lunch before heading to the Aspen Institute, where she was scheduled to appear on two panels. She has no memory of either appearance. Her husband, John Molner, said an intern later found Couric "out of it" and drove her to Aspen Valley Hospital, where she struggled to answer basic questions - including the current month, the year, and the name of the sitting president. "I thought it was 2024," Couric wrote. "And I believed Joe Biden was president." At the hospital, a doctor turned to the nurses and said, "Initiate stroke protocol." An MRI came back clear, ruling out a stroke, though Couric's confusion actually deepened before it lifted. By around 9 p.m., her memory began returning to normal.
Neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter told Couric that TGA sufferers stay alert and know who they are, but simply can't retain new memories during the episode. The condition affects roughly 3 to 10 people per 100,000 annually, according to the NIH, with adults over 50 at higher risk. It's not caused by stroke, seizure, or head injury, and it typically resolves within 24 hours without lasting effects - a genuinely reassuring diagnosis, doctors say, even though it's a disorienting one to live through.
Couric said she's relieved it wasn't more serious, even as she comes to terms with a gap in her memory that will never be filled back in. Our thoughts are with her and her family as she recovers.
