Teenager Keeps Thinking It's June 11th After Memory Resets Every 2 Hours Due to Head Injury
An Illinois teenager is constantly reminded of one of the worst days of her life after a traumatic head injury causes her memory to “reset” every two hours.
Every morning for the past three months, Riley Horner wakes up believing it’s June 11 — the day she suffered a hit to the head. She has no recollection of what happened before that day or after.
“I have a calendar on my door, and I look and it’s September, and I’m like, ‘Woah,'” Riley told local news outlet WQAD 8.
Riley was accidentally kicked in the head by a student “crowd-surfing” during a dance at the FFA State Convention, according to the outlet.
After the incident, Riley’s mother Sarah Horner explained that when they went to get her checked out, the doctor sent her home with crutches and diagnosed her with a concussion.
However, Sarah believes it’s more than that, as Riley has experienced “dozens” of seizures and has taken “countless” more trips to the hospital.
“They tell us there’s nothing medically wrong,” Sarah told WQAD 8. “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.”
Riley’s new reality has been especially hard on her and her family as almost every new experience since her injury has been wiped from her memory.
“My brother passed away last week, and she probably has no idea,” Sarah told WQAD 8. “We tell her every day, but she has no idea about it.”
Riley even carries detailed notes with her at school so that when her two-hour timer goes off, she can “brush up” on what she has forgotten — like where her locker is.
“I know it’s hard for them as much as it’s hard for me,” Riley told the outlet. “People just don’t understand. It’s like a movie.”
“Like I will have no recollection of [this interview] come suppertime,” Riley told WQAD 8.
As the days go by, Riley grows more and more scared as doctors say “she might just be like this forever,” her mother told the news outlet.
“I’m not making memories,” Riley told WQAD 8. “And I’m just like really scared.”
At this time, Riley and Sarah are desperate for help and answers.
“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,” Sarah explained to the outlet.
