help..need info re short term memory loss

ktwlpn, LPN · Nov 19, 2003

Originally posted by hmccartn
HI Folks,

If someone out there can provide me with some info, I would greatly appreciate it.. Here is the cliff notes version of the story. 17 yr old boy in a MVA with a train, his best friend 16 dies he is thrown from the vehicle but is relatively okay physically. He is taken for a CT and MRI and is released from the hospital after approx 4 days...he has no short term memory..I am a nursing student and talked to my profs who used to work ICU and they told me it is from his brain banging around into his skull and it is called "Ku couro Ku" or something to that effect. does anybody know the real spelling so i can find more information about this..i was also told that in patients with this the memory almost always comes back..does anybody know how long this process usually takes. any info i can pass on to the family would be a great help. thanks.

" Coup - Contrecoup Brain Injury"----

Injury from contact forces often occurs in two places - the site of the initial impact of the brain with the skull and the diametrically opposite part of the brain. This happens because of the rebound of the brain from the initial impact with the skull. To describe this phenomenon, the term coup and contrecoup are used.

"Contrecoup Brain Injury "A specific area of brain injury located directly opposite to the site of impact to the head that results from linear violent collisions of the brain with the skull. ....correct spelling here-lots of info on the net...Great websites for the patients ,too

ladytraviler · Nov 19, 2003

Its a contrecoup injury in which the brain located on the opposite side from the primary injury is also injured:D

Had to ask one of our doc's how to spell it. Just knew what it was. :confused:

Have had this injury and it took about a month for me to have any kind of memory short term. I still have episodic short term memory loss but is when I am dog, dead tired.

hope this helped

hmccartn · Nov 19, 2003

thanks for the info guys..boy having the right spelling sure does make a difference!

sjoe · Nov 19, 2003

There was a Perry Mason show that dealt with this kind of injury. If you watch enough recycled television shows, you are bound to run into it.

mistersleepy · Nov 19, 2003

In my past life, I was in a head on collision in Mexico, I then rolled down the side of the mountain. Lost several hours of memory during which I was awake, cussing up a storm, interacting with rescue personal etc. My memories of this event never came back (7 years now) but I don't have any other ill effects (although my wife might argue that one LOL)