Mickey later had an affair with his secretary, Linda Patterson, in 1970. After Mickey refused to leave Laura for her, Linda attempted suicide and broadcast her affair to the whole of Salem. However, Mickey and Laura stayed together for the sake of young Michael. When Michael Learned of the affair, in 1973, he confronted Mickey, who suffered a heart attack. His brother, Dr. Bill Horton, performed a life saving operation which pulled Mickey through. However shortly after, Mickey suffered a stroke but managed to walk out of the hospital. However, he was left with amnesia and had forgotten a lot, including his name. Mickey invented a new name for himself: Marty Hanson, he walked out of Salem and was taken in by a crippled farm girl called Maggie Simmons they soon fell in love and married in January 1974. Mickey later saw operations being offered at Salem University Hospital for Maggie's disabilities. Later, after his picture appeared in the paper, Mickey was reunited with the Hortons, though he had no memory of them. Bill offered to operate on Mickey in hopes of returning his memory, but Mickey refused.