Illinois teen's memory resets every two hours after head injury
FILE-A patient is brought in the service of the medical imaging to have one MRI which will show the state of the hurts of his brain. Paca, France. (Photo by: Calmettes/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
KIRKWOOD, IL. (KTVU) - An Illinois teen says she can't remember anything after a traumatic head injury that has caused her memory to reset every two hours.
Riley Horner wakes up every morning thinking its June 11th—the day her life changed drastically, WQAD reports.
"I have a calendar on my door and I look and it's September and I'm like 'woah'," she told the station.
Horner was accidentally kicked in the head by a student "crowd surfing" at a convention and ever since she's had dozens of seizures and countless hospital visits, WQAD says.
Horner and her mother Sarah say doctors can't seem to find anything wrong.
Sarah said the first doctor dismissed it as concussion and sent the girl home on crutches.
"They tell us there's nothing medically wrong," she said. "They can't see anything. You can't see a concussion though on an MRI or a CT scan. There's no brain bleed, there's no tumor."
The teen carriers her textbook, notebook, and pencil with her throughout the day because she can't remember where her locker his.
Horner has to write detailed notes to herself to keep up with school work and has an alarm set for every two hours so she can go over what she may have forgotten.
"My brother passed away last week and she probably has no idea. And we tell her every day, but she has no idea about it," Sarah said.
"I know it's hard for them as much as it's hard for me. And people just don't understand. It`s like a movie," Horner said. "Like I will have no recollection of (this interview) come supper time."
Horner and her mother hope doctors can find a diagnosis before it's too late.
"(Doctors) told us that she might just be like this forever. And I am not okay with that," Sarah said.
Sarah said research shows that short term memory loss past six months can cause irreversible damage.
"We need help," Sarah pleaded tearfully. "We need somebody that knows a little bit more because she deserves better. I mean she wanted to be in the medical field and now she can’t even hold a job if she wanted to."