TrendsWide
Contact US
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • NBA
  • Reviews
No Result
View All Result
TrendsWide
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • NBA
  • Reviews
No Result
View All Result
TrendsWide
No Result
View All Result
Home Australia

Man who lost memory when he was hit by a car as a teen suddenly has flashbacks after hearing 80s hit

by souhaib
June 16, 2021
in Australia
0
Man who lost memory when he was hit by a car as a teen suddenly has flashbacks after hearing 80s hit
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT


A father who lost his childhood memories when he was hit by a car had a breakthrough after listening to The Waterboys’ hit The Whole of the Moon triggered a series of flashbacks.

Thomas Leeds was crossing the road in north London when he was hit by a taxi, sending him flying over the bonnet and landing on his head in the road.

After being rushed to hospital, it seemed the then- 19-year-old was relatively uninjured despite the severity of the crash and as sent home. 

But days later, doctors realised he had a devastating blood clot on his brain.

Mr Leeds was left with no memories from before the crash and found he had a condition known as face blindness, which meant he struggled to recognise even his own family.

But listening to the Waterboys’ 1985 hit more than ten years later suddenly enabled him to recall fragmented images from his childhood. 

Thomas Leeds (pictured with wife Sophie) who lost his childhood memories after a car crash, had a breakthrough after listening to a 1985 song which triggered flashbacks from his youth

Thomas Leeds (pictured in hospital) was listening to the Waterboys' hit The Whole of the Moon when childhood memories came flooding back including one of his mother at Christmas time

Thomas Leeds (pictured in hospital) was listening to the Waterboys’ hit The Whole of the Moon when childhood memories came flooding back including one of his mother at Christmas time

Thomas lost all his childhood memories after the crash. Pictured: Thomas Leeds growing up

Thomas lost all his childhood memories after the crash. Pictured: Thomas Leeds growing up

Doctors discovered Thomas had a blood clot on his brain which required emergency surgery

Doctors discovered Thomas had a blood clot on his brain which required emergency surgery

What is prosopagnosia? 

Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is a disorder of face perception where the ability to recognize faces is impaired, while the ability to recognize other objects may be relatively intact.

The term originally referred to a condition following acute brain damage.

About two per cent of the population suffer from some sort of facial blindness

Few successful therapies have so far been developed for affected people, although individuals often learn to use ‘piecemeal’ or ‘feature by feature’ recognition strategies.

This may involve secondary clues such as clothing, gait, hair color, body shape, and voice.

Because the face seems to function as an important identifying feature in memory, it can also be difficult for people with this condition to keep track of information about people, and socialise normally with others.

The clot required emergency surgery and left Thomas with brain damage that meant he had no memories from before the crash and had also lost the ability to recognise people’s faces – a condition called prosopagnosia.

This meant when he came round in the hospital, he could not even recognise his parents or his five siblings. 

Ten years later and Thomas was compiling a playlist for his 30th birthday party when he suddenly experienced a series of flashbacks from his childhood.

The memories were triggered by The Waterboys’ 1985 hit The Whole of the Moon and included a memory of his mother as a younger woman at Christmas.

Now 37, Thomas described the flashbacks as ‘the most magical thing ever’.

As well as memory loss and prosopagnosia, Thomas’ family also noticed a major change in his personality. 

Where he was once quite reserved, he is now outgoing and emotional. He has also developed epilepsy due to the scar tissue on his brain.

Speaking with the BBC, he described the first three years after the crash as being in ‘an emotional cocoon’ while he recovered from his injuries.

He said: ‘Everything was wonderful, so big and unlimited, and I sort of remember — it sounds so silly — just sitting in the park under trees.’

In the wake of his accident, Thomas had tried to recover his memories by revisiting locations from his past while friends and family tried to remind him of hobbies and interests he used to have but nothing came back.

Thomas said he started to feel stuck as friends began to start their careers and families.

In a bid to find a soulmate, Thomas began internet dating which was becoming more prominent at the time.

Through a dating app, he met Sophie who had dyed bright red hair which he said made her ‘like a beacon’ and she became the only face he would never forget, even to this day.

Thomas experienced flashbacks after listening to Waterboys' hit The Whole of the Moon. Pictured: The Waterboys perform on stage during Festival de Guitarra de Barcelona in 2012

Thomas experienced flashbacks after listening to Waterboys’ hit The Whole of the Moon. Pictured: The Waterboys perform on stage during Festival de Guitarra de Barcelona in 2012

Thomas was on a gap year and was planning to go to university but that changed when he suffered brain damage which left him with personality changes and no childhood memories

Thomas was on a gap year and was planning to go to university but that changed when he suffered brain damage which left him with personality changes and no childhood memories

Thomas has since been signed by a literary agency and is working on his first fantasy novel

Thomas has since been signed by a literary agency and is working on his first fantasy novel

The couple dated for two years before they got married and have now had two daughters together.

His breakthrough came when they were getting ready for his 30th birthday party. Thomas had put together a playlist which included The Whole of the Moon and it was while listening to that song through his headphones that he began experiencing flashbacks.

He told the BBC: ‘It really changed everything for me. It was so short, nothing was said, but knowing that it was real and I’ve got it in my head and it’s not just a story, and it’s not just a grainy photograph … it was a little bit of my beginning.’

Face blindness still impacts Thomas’ day to day life and he says ‘some days are better than others’.

Although he is able to create new memories with his family, he says sometimes he struggles to recognise his daughters when they are playing in the park. 

Thomas was fortunate enough to retain his ability to read and write following his injury and is now a writer, preparing to publish his first novel.

The fantasy adventure story will feature a protagonist who wakes up with no memory of the past and will be aimed at children aged between eight and 12.



Source link

You might also like

Fears the Bondi Covid cluster has spread 60km away as a childcare centre is forced to close

China accused using UNESCO puppet against Australia over Great Barrier Reef world heritage listing

Queensland slams its borders shut to Sydney Covid hotspots

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • Pinterest
  • Telegram
  • Email
Tags: dailymail australia
Share30Tweet19
Previous Post

‘Deadliest Catch’ cast reacts to the death of Nick McGlashan in emotional tribute episode

Next Post

Putin tells Biden he hopes meeting will be productive

souhaib

Recommended For You

Fears the Bondi Covid cluster has spread 60km away as a childcare centre is forced to close

by souhaib
June 23, 2021
0
Fears the Bondi Covid cluster has spread 60km away as a childcare centre is forced to close

Fears the Bondi Covid cluster has spread 60km away as a childcare centre in Sydney's south-west is forced to close after a positive case spent a day there Little...

Read more

China accused using UNESCO puppet against Australia over Great Barrier Reef world heritage listing

by souhaib
June 23, 2021
0
China accused using UNESCO puppet against Australia over Great Barrier Reef world heritage listing

2019: Australian intelligence services conclude that China was responsible for a cyber-attack on Australia's parliament and three largest political parties in the run-up to a May election.April 2020:...

Read more

Queensland slams its borders shut to Sydney Covid hotspots

by souhaib
June 23, 2021
0
Queensland slams its borders shut to Sydney Covid hotspots

Queensland slams its borders shut to Sydney hotspots as New South Wales battles a growing Covid clusterQueensland slams borders shut to anyone from Sydney's hotspot suburbs Anyone entering from...

Read more

UEFA denies Munich mayor’s Euro 2020 rainbow stadium gesture to protest against a Hungarian law

by souhaib
June 22, 2021
0
UEFA denies Munich mayor's Euro 2020 rainbow stadium gesture to protest against a Hungarian law

UEFA has refused a request from Munich's mayor for a stadium to be lit in rainbow colours for Germany's Euro 2020 match against Hungary on Wednesday in protest...

Read more

England march on in Euro 2020, but it’s group stage agony for Scotland

by souhaib
June 22, 2021
0
England march on in Euro 2020, but it's group stage agony for Scotland

Who could England face in the Round of 16? England have won Group D That means they will face the runners up of Group F - the so-called 'Group of...

Read more
Next Post
Putin tells Biden he hopes meeting will be productive

Putin tells Biden he hopes meeting will be productive

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • How to deal with populism
  • What Is Shower Door?
  • Indian Billionaire’s Stock Holdings Well worth Nearly $4 Billion in Emphasis After Loss of life
  • Excalibur Success Reviews 2022
  • Mexico adds 4 deaths from Covid-19 and 1,367 new infections registered in the last 24 hours

Browse by Category

  • Australia
  • Automotive
  • Business
  • Celebrity
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Deals
  • Economie
  • Education
  • Euro
  • Forex
  • Gaming
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • NBA
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Sports
  • Switzerland
  • Trending
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized

Categories

  • Australia
  • Automotive
  • Business
  • Celebrity
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Deals
  • Economie
  • Education
  • Euro
  • Forex
  • Gaming
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • NBA
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Sports
  • Switzerland
  • Trending
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized

Pages

  • Contact US
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2021 - TrendsWide

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Contact US
  • Privacy Policy
  • Trending
  • U.S.
  • Economie
  • Deals
  • Reviews
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • NBA

© 2021 - TrendsWide