A woman with memory loss makes memos on everyone in her life so she can remember details about them - and has been nicknamed Dory by her friends.
Megan Mackenzie, 27, suffered a traumatic brain injury after she fell off a stage in school and hit the back of her head.
The author had to relearn to talk without a stutter and over time realised she was struggling with short and long-term memory loss.
Now she keeps a memo for every friend or family member in her notes app on her phone - detailing things such as their favourite colour, birthday and places they like to go.
Megan, an actress and college educator, from New York City, US said: "When I was in school I got pushed off a stage and hit the bottom of a piano. I hit the back of my head.
"I had to relearn how to speak.
"Then I realised I didn't have a memory anymore. I can remember how things make me feel but the details are blurred.
"I spent the next few years navigating the new normal.
"Each person has a personalised notes app.
"A lot of my friends know and let me tell the same stories over a million times.
"A lot of my friends call me Dory [from Finding Nemo]. I always say 'just keep swimming'."
Megan was 17 years old when the incident happened which caused her brain injury.
She said: "I couldn't articulate what had happened.
"I don't remember the next few months."
Her parents took her to hospital the following day - as initially no one realised the damage the fall had done.
She was told she had mild concussion but, after her symptoms continued, she was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
Over the years Megan has had various therapy to relearn to read and talk.
She said: "I loved reading. Now I read by speed reading.
"I can read an entire book in three hours.
"I get to redo the Harry Potter series as an adult with a fresh brain."
Megan started making a habit of writing things down after she realised she was repeating stories to her friends.
She said: "That's how I started using my notes app to keep track of things.
"I love bullet points. I title the notes app for that person.
"I write down their birthday, places they go, names of dogs.
"It's random life bits that were important when I wrote them down.
"Everyone wants to see their notes but I never let them see it."
Her boyfriend, Andrew, 24, a masters student in computer engineering, is very supportive of Megan.
She said: "He is lovely and wonderful. He finds it charming when I tell him my stories for the 800th time.
"When I'm retelling stories I'll look at him like 'what happened next?' and he'll jump in."
After Megan's brain injury she was told it wouldn't be "an option" to memorise lines.
Now she's worked out a way to do it - by using movement.
She said: "If I'm learning lines I will touch my head or something.
"Through movement I'm able to lock in these words."
Megan shares her story online - to help share the "quirks" of a brain injury.
Megan Mackenzie, 27, suffered a traumatic brain injury after she fell off a stage in school and hit the back of her head.
The author had to relearn to talk without a stutter and over time realised she was struggling with short and long-term memory loss.
Now she keeps a memo for every friend or family member in her notes app on her phone - detailing things such as their favourite colour, birthday and places they like to go.
Megan, an actress and college educator, from New York City, US said: "When I was in school I got pushed off a stage and hit the bottom of a piano. I hit the back of my head.
"I had to relearn how to speak.
"Then I realised I didn't have a memory anymore. I can remember how things make me feel but the details are blurred.
"I spent the next few years navigating the new normal.
"Each person has a personalised notes app.
"A lot of my friends know and let me tell the same stories over a million times.
"A lot of my friends call me Dory [from Finding Nemo]. I always say 'just keep swimming'."
Megan was 17 years old when the incident happened which caused her brain injury.
She said: "I couldn't articulate what had happened.
"I don't remember the next few months."
Her parents took her to hospital the following day - as initially no one realised the damage the fall had done.
She was told she had mild concussion but, after her symptoms continued, she was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
Over the years Megan has had various therapy to relearn to read and talk.
She said: "I loved reading. Now I read by speed reading.
"I can read an entire book in three hours.
"I get to redo the Harry Potter series as an adult with a fresh brain."
Megan started making a habit of writing things down after she realised she was repeating stories to her friends.
She said: "That's how I started using my notes app to keep track of things.
"I love bullet points. I title the notes app for that person.
"I write down their birthday, places they go, names of dogs.
"It's random life bits that were important when I wrote them down.
"Everyone wants to see their notes but I never let them see it."
Her boyfriend, Andrew, 24, a masters student in computer engineering, is very supportive of Megan.
She said: "He is lovely and wonderful. He finds it charming when I tell him my stories for the 800th time.
"When I'm retelling stories I'll look at him like 'what happened next?' and he'll jump in."
After Megan's brain injury she was told it wouldn't be "an option" to memorise lines.
Now she's worked out a way to do it - by using movement.
She said: "If I'm learning lines I will touch my head or something.
"Through movement I'm able to lock in these words."
Megan shares her story online - to help share the "quirks" of a brain injury.
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FunTranscript
00:00 *music*
00:04 I have memory loss because I got pushed off of a stage and hit the back of my head on a piano and got a brain injury.
00:09 Keep in mind, I'm retelling this story from other people telling me this story.
00:13 I don't really remember that day at all anymore.
00:16 I was just hanging out with one of my girly pops and we were on the choir risers.
00:19 While we were joking around or hanging out, she accidentally tripped me or pushed me
00:24 and I fell backwards off the riser and hit the back of my head on the piano that was next to the riser.
00:30 Nothing really happened. No one told me to go to the nurse's office.
00:33 No one was too concerned. I just remember feeling super disoriented.
00:39 I then had to go to an indoor marching band rehearsal and I went up to one of my instructors
00:43 and told them, "Hey, I hit my head. I don't feel good. I don't know what's going on. I just don't feel right. I have a headache."
00:48 Pretty much their response was, "Take some aspirin. You have to be at this rehearsal or you don't get to be in the show."
00:53 That was kind of terrifying for me.
00:56 So I went on stage to practice. Now keep in mind there are strobe lights.
00:59 I'm on stage with a bunch of drums and I, about five minutes in, was like, "I can't do this."
01:04 But I also wasn't allowed to leave.
01:06 So somehow I ended up in a practice room by myself just sobbing.
01:10 I don't really remember who put me there or why I was there,
01:13 but no one came to check on me except for one of my teammates after an hour.
01:18 Finally, rehearsals were over. I don't remember leaving the practice room.
01:21 I don't remember getting picked up by my stepmom.
01:23 I don't remember going home.
01:25 But my dad remembers coming home to me sitting at the island in our kitchen over my dinner.
01:30 Apparently I was just like this.
01:32 Pretty much after that, my entire life changed.
01:34 [Music]
01:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]