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News > World News > Real life 50 First Dates: UK girl Jess Lydon, 19, loses her memory every 24 hrs

Real life 50 First Dates: UK girl Jess Lydon, 19, loses her memory every 24 hrs

Updated: 22 Feb 2012

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One day at a time ... tragic teenager Jess Lydon is stuck in the present

TEENAGER Jess Lydon is trapped in the present — after a rare brain disorder left her able to remember only the last 24 hours.

Often her condition is so bad she forgets she has just eaten breakfast.

Yet a year ago the promising performing arts student memorised the entire script to take the lead role in a production of We Will Rock You.

Now, after being diagnosed with Susac Syndrome — so rare there have been only 250 reported cases in the world — she cannot recall what she did yesterday.

Jess, 19, forgets three of her close pals are PREGNANT and has to be constantly reminded why they have put on weight.

She doesn't remember celebrating Christmas and is unable to recognise photos of friends. Most heartbreaking of all, she has no recollection of her beloved gran Audrey's funeral after she died last year aged 69.

Stricken Jess, being cared for by mum Tracey at home in Walsgrave, West Mids, said: "My life is ruined and my memory has gone. I have no past — just the present.

Heartache ... Jess Lydon cannot recall gran's funeral

Peter Simpson Photography "I've only vague recollections of what happened in the last year — not even Christmas or my birthday in December.

"The really upsetting thing is I don't remember my nan's funeral, though I know we were very close and there was a carriage with white horses.

"I often ask my mum what's for breakfast or tea and she says that I have just eaten. I just can't remember."

Mum Tracey, 45, added: "Jess's life has become a living nightmare.

"Her memory is 24 hours at most, but it's so bad she can't recall a thing she did or said ten minutes before.

"She's like a pensioner with Alzheimer's, but she's only a teenager. It's heartbreaking."

Jess was diagnosed in November with Susac Syndrome — whose few victims have been mainly women between 20 and 40 — after having fainting fits.

Many doctors are unaware of the condition. A GP initially diagnosed vertigo — until an MRI scan revealed white lesions on Jess's brain. She has suffered sight and hearing loss, severe headaches, confusion and an aversion to natural light.

Her boyfriend couldn't cope with her illness, so they were forced to split up.

Now Jess has had to give up college, and she may have to leave her job at a bingo hall diner as her balance is affected.

"It's getting so bad I can't go out on my own in case I fall over," she said. She has to take a cocktail of steroids to fight the debilitating syndrome. Doctors hope that the condition will correct itself within five years, but any sight or hearing loss could be permanent.

Consultant neurologist Holger Allroggen said: "Susac Syndrome is so rare most neuroscience centres would see no more than one case every few years."

Anguished Tracey added: "We just pray for a miracle cure."

SOURCE: thesun.co.uk

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