Former 'Jon Doe' Edward Lighthart leaves hospital; future uncertain

Edward Lighthart knows less about his future than he does about his past. But as he was discharged from Swedish Medical Center on Monday with only the clothes on his back and two paper sacks of medicine and paperwork, he had one idea:

"I'm going to have a long, hot bath," said Lighthart, who still prefers to be called Jon Doe. "Every muscle on my body has been aching."

Less than a week after a story in The Seattle Times about Lighthart's plight with apparent amnesia touched off an international media stir, officials at Swedish's Cherry Hill campus concluded there is no more medical need for him to remain there for inpatient care.

So they put him in a taxi and directed the driver to take him to a Seattle hotel — nothing fancy. They said they will pay for his stay for about a week and provide him with outpatient care. But beyond that, the world is wide open to Lighthart — for better or worse.

Lighthart, 53, arrived at Swedish on July 30, saying he woke up in Seattle's Discovery Park and realized he couldn't remember his name, his background and most important details of his life. The hospital dubbed him Jon Doe.

A few hours after The Times' story appeared Thursday, a reader in China recognized him as Lighthart, a former English teacher in Shanghai. His true background then quickly became clearer. He is a well-educated expert on European art and cultural history, and a former chef, who grew up in Arizona but has spent the better part of the past 20 years in Europe and Asia.

But interviews with family and friends also revealed a long history of emotional turmoil that seemed to culminate last year when he ended up in Calgary, Alberta. He spent a few months there homeless and landed in a psychiatric hospital after being viewed as suicidal.

The Canadian government accused him of freeloading social services and deported him. He went to live in Las Vegas with a sister, who kicked him out last month.

It's still not clear how he got to Seattle. He still says he remembers virtually nothing about his story, including the episode in Calgary. He says he still doesn't associate with the name Edward Lighthart.

Lighthart said he has no major plans, except to stay in Seattle for a while to see whether the outpatient treatment helps him.

Swedish officials have connected him with a local public-relations firm to help him — for free — with the dozens of media-interview requests he has been getting.

But he still has no ID, nor any access to anything attached to Edward Lighthart's life.

"I'm a little anxious and a little nervous," he said as the taxi pulled up. "But otherwise I'm OK."

Then he got in, and the taxi drove off.

Ian Ith: 206-464-2109 or iith@seattletimes.com