UNTIL three years ago, Ricky Dean, from Taunton in Somerset, rarely left his family home, because he could never remember where he was going.
Ricky has severe problems with his memory and because he has no sense of time, even if he can remember doing something, he cannot remember when he did it.His home is now full of lists of what he needs to do and when – like the character played by Guy Pearce in the film ‘Memento’.Doctors say there is no name for his condition and despite his problems he has still gained five GCSEs.Ricky said: “It can be very difficult at times, but my family and friends are so supportive.“My mates are constantly having a joke about it, which is good, telling me I borrowed a tenner from them the week before.“I can never remember if I have or not, so I make a list and if they’re just winding me up I get my own back.”Ricky Dean has almost no short-term memory so must remind himself with notes and alarms to carry out the simplest tasks. His blackboard outlines his morning routine — consisting of a shower and shave, walking the dog and then having lunch.He has notices all over his home and even carries a card in his wallet to advise him how to cope if he doesn’t remember where he is.“My condition can be so frustrating for people, especially if they don’t understand that I just don’t remember anything to do with time.“If I didn’t have my lists, telling me to brush my teeth or have lunch, I would be lost.“The worst thing is missing appointments with friends and forgetting good things, I can’t look forward to anything, because I have no concept of time.”As a child, Ricky was diagnosed with autism, but when he was 11 his parents took him for a full memory scan which revealed the full extent of his memory loss.Ricky Dean, 19, was starved of oxygen when he was born.Dean’s mother, Nicki said: “We knew something was wrong when he was seven. To get a diagnosis was a relief, because we had been saying all this time that he wasn’t doing all these things because he wanted to.“We try to promote independence but tasks such as cooking or running a bath present too much risk, because he wouldn’t know whether the oven or bath hadn’t been on for five hours or five minutes.”Ricky has severe problems with his memory and because he has no sense of time, even if he can remember doing something, he cannot remember when he did it.View the original article here
Teenager suffers from short-term memory loss
