A Chinese man who has been left with a memory that lasts just five minutes has found the only way he can cope is to continually write down every detail of his life in a precious notebook. Chen Hongzhi, 25, from Hsinchu county, Beipu, suffered a serious head injury in a car accident when he was a teenager which has left him with virtually no memory, The People's Daily reports. He writes down everything - from the people he meets in the street to the weather - as his injury means he has to start from scratch each day. Memory book: Chen Hongzhi uses the notebook to write down people he meets and what he does each day after being left with a five-minute memory following a car crash. Chen suffered the severe brain injury in a car accident when he was 17 and spent months in intensive care in hospital. While his body recovered, his memory loss is still so severe that he often forgets things that happened between five and 10 minutes ago. The debilitating condition also means that Chen cannot remember how to write properly, so he makes notes in a phonetic 'scrawl' that mostly only he understands. 'This is my record, I write in it everyday, even if it is pouring down with rain or if I don't go out to do the weeding I still l must write, "Heavy rain",' he said. 'Whenever I get home from any time away  I quickly grab my notebook and write down important things from the day - who I've met, what I've done, how much money I got from recycling bottles, all that sort of stuff.' Life record: Chen writes down everything from the people he meets in the street to the weather as his injury means he has to start from scratch each day. He has even developed his own language. Dependants: Chen Hongzhi with his mother Wang Miao-chiong, who starts the day by handing Chen his notebook and reminding him he is no-longer 17. They are reliant on each other following the recent death of his father. Every day when Chen wakes up, his mother, Wang Miao-chiong, must remind him that he is no longer 17 and eight years have passed. She hands him the notebook so he can read what has happened in his life since the accident and check important details like who his friends are and what needs to be done that day. Chen's story has spread online in China after it was compared to that of the fictional character played by Nicole Kidman in the film Before I Go to Sleep. His condition means Chen is unable to hold down a job so he raises a small amount of money by walking several kilometres collecting plastic bottles. Chen also collects wood that he and his mother use to make a fire to cook their food. His mother, 60, said the practical system has kept Chen going for years, but she worries about what will happen to him after she has gone, particularly given the recent death of his father. Guide to life: Chen Hongzhi, 25, has had to write everything down after he suffered brain injuries that left him with a five-minute memory, when he was 17. They get by on donations from neighbours and friends in the tiny village in northern Taiwan's Hsinchu County, who have given Chen the nickname 'short memory man' because he forgets having met them within 24 hours. She said the family had initially hoped he would go back to school but soon realised there would be little point. 'It had been planned that would go back to school but there was no point as he could never remember the lessons, and has been living at home with me ever since.' Before the accident: Chen poses with a pony before a car accident left him with very little memory. Hard worker: Despite having very little memory, Chen collects firewood for his family to use in the stove. The pair are totally dependent on each other, with Chen having his mother there to reassure him about who he is and he, in turn, provides the physical strength to earn the money and carry out the household chores. A severe hit to the head can injure the brain and cause both short and long-term memory loss. Memory is easily damaged by brain injury because there are several structures in the brain are involved in processing information, storing it and retrieving it. Damage to those parts of the brain can result in memory loss. Head injuries can trigger memory loss of the period immediately after the accident. A person can appear to be relatively well, but everyday memory for events or conversations can be interrupted. They can also forget the time from before the brain injury – called retrograde and anteretrograde amnesia – and the gap in memory will range from a few minutes to a few months. But the most common – and the most troublesome - type of memory loss is short term memory loss. This can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Examples of this are forgetting what has just been said, having difficulty in learning a new skill, repeating the same question over and over, forgetting people's names, getting details mixed up, forgetting a change in routine and forgetting where things have been placed. There is no guaranteed cure for this type of memory problem, and rehabilitation will try to help a person cope using tried and tested strategies. However, memory is not like a muscle that can be developed just by stretching it. Source: Headway: The Brain Injury Association. After the death of his father, he was forced to step up his bottle collecting activities, where he was spotted by a traveller who was fascinated by his story, and posted on social media where it quickly spread. Beipu village chief, Liu Chin-ting, said the family receives monthly support from Hsinchu County's social welfare department, which is helping the family to get by. Welfare workers also make it a point to visit Chen and his mother during festive holidays, he said. But Liu said he believes the boy could still have a future if there was a medical facility that was prepared to take in and give him proper physiotherapy and training. He said: 'He needs to get some preparation because his mother won't be there forever, and maybe they can get to the point where he can even hold down a regular job'. The family have been flooded with offers of people wanting to send money but Chief Liu, who is helping to negotiate, said what they really need now is is practical everyday donations like tissue paper, rice, salt and soy sauce. He said: 'Once the basics are sorted out, perhaps it might be possible to look at taking the time to find something more for the mid-term and long-term, but at the moment they just need to survive.' Chen meanwhile is clearly happy, as his diary notes that kind donations of money have been flooding in and he's very happy that people want to help. He knows he is destined to forget everything, but also knows that nothing he can do about that except keep his sense of humour. He said: 'I am reading here about all the people that want to give me money, but I would say don't give me too much, because it looks as if I'll probably forget where I put it all.' In the film Before I Go to Sleep, 40-year-old Christine Lucas, played by Nicole Kidman lives a life where she wakes up every day forgetting what has gone on the day before. In a remarkable similarity, she has to remind herself by writing notes each day about what has happened to her since the car accident. Alike: Chen's story has led to comparisons between himself and Holywood blockbuster Before I Go to Sleep (2014), starring Nicole Kidman as Christine Lucas and Colin Firth as Ben Lucas.

What are highlight points for this article?
Car crash left Chen Hongzhi with severe brain injuries and little memory.
Starts every day with his mother reminding him he is no-longer 17.
Reads notebook to recall who he is and who his friends are.
Records everything he does each day and makes notes for the next.
Story has spread online after being compared to film Before I Go to Sleep.
En kinesisk man som har blivit kvar med ett minne som varar i bara fem minuter har funnit det enda sätt han kan klara av är att ständigt skriva ner varje detalj i sitt liv i en dyrbar anteckningsbok. Chen Hongzhi, 25, från Hsinchu county, Beipu, drabbades av en allvarlig huvudskada i en bilolycka när han var tonåring vilket har lämnat honom praktiskt taget utan minne, The People's Daily rapporterar. Han skriver ner allt - från de människor han möter på gatan till vädret - då hans skada innebär att han måste börja om från grunden varje dag. Minnesbok: Chen Hongzhi använder anteckningsboken för att skriva ner personer han träffar och vad han gör varje dag efter att ha blivit kvar med ett fem minuter långt minne efter en bilkrasch. Chen drabbades av den svåra hjärnskadan i en bilolycka när han var 17 år och tillbringade månader på intensivvård på sjukhus. Medan hans kropp återhämtade sig är hans minnesförlust fortfarande så svår att han ofta glömmer saker som hände för mellan fem och tio minuter sedan. Det försvagande tillståndet innebär också att Chen inte kan komma ihåg hur man skriver korrekt, så han gör anteckningar i en fonetisk 'krypa' som mestadels bara han förstår. 'Det här är min skiva, jag skriver i den varje dag, även om det häller ner med regn eller om jag inte går ut för att göra ogräsrensningen så måste jag ändå skriva, "Heavy regn", sa han. "När jag kommer hem från någon tid bort tar jag snabbt tag i min anteckningsbok och skriver ner viktiga saker från dagen - vem jag har träffat, vad jag har gjort, hur mycket pengar jag har fått från återvinningsflaskor, allt sådant." Livsrekord: Chen skriver ner allt från de människor han möter på gatan till vädret då hans skada gör att han måste börja om från grunden varje dag. Han har till och med utvecklat sitt eget språk. Beroenden: Chen Hongzhi med sin mor Wang Miao-chiong, som börjar dagen med att lämna Chen sin anteckningsbok och påminna honom om att han inte är längre 17. De är beroende av varandra efter faderns död nyligen. Varje dag när Chen vaknar måste hans mor, Wang Miao-chiong, påminna honom om att han inte längre är 17 och åtta år har gått. Hon ger honom anteckningsboken så att han kan läsa vad som hänt i hans liv sedan olyckan och kontrollera viktiga detaljer som vilka hans vänner är och vad som behöver göras den dagen. Chens berättelse har spridit sig online i Kina efter att den jämförts med den av Nicole Kidman spelade fiktiva karaktären i filmen Before I Go to Sleep. Hans tillstånd innebär att Chen inte kan behålla ett jobb så han samlar in en liten summa pengar genom att gå flera kilometer och samla plastflaskor. Chen samlar också på trä som han och hans mor använder för att göra upp eld för att laga deras mat. Hans mor, 60 år, sade att det praktiska systemet har hållit Chen igång i åratal, men hon oroar sig för vad som kommer att hända med honom efter att hon har gått, särskilt med tanke på hans fars nyligen bortgång. Guide till livet: Chen Hongzhi, 25, har fått skriva ner allt efter att han drabbats av hjärnskador som lämnat honom med ett femminutersminne, när han var 17. De klarar sig med donationer från grannar och vänner i den lilla byn i norra Taiwans Hsinchu County, som har gett Chen smeknamnet "kortminnesman" eftersom han glömmer att ha träffat dem inom 24 timmar. Hon sade att familjen inledningsvis hade hoppats att han skulle gå tillbaka till skolan men insåg snart att det inte skulle vara någon mening. "Det hade planerats som skulle gå tillbaka till skolan men det var ingen mening eftersom han aldrig kunde komma ihåg lektionerna, och har bott hemma med mig sedan dess." Före olyckan: Chen poserar med en ponny innan en bilolycka lämnade honom med mycket lite minne. Hård arbetare: Trots att Chen har mycket lite minne samlar han ved för sin familj att använda i spisen. Paret är helt beroende av varandra, med Chen som har sin mor där för att lugna honom om vem han är och han i sin tur ger den fysiska styrkan att tjäna pengarna och utföra hushållssysslor. En svår slag i huvudet kan skada hjärnan och orsaka både kort- och långtidsminnesförlust. Minnet skadas lätt av hjärnskada eftersom det finns flera strukturer i hjärnan som är involverade i att bearbeta information, lagra den och hämta den. Skador på de delarna av hjärnan kan leda till minnesförlust. Huvudskador kan utlösa minnesförlust av perioden omedelbart efter olyckan. En person kan framstå som relativt bra, men vardagsminnet för händelser eller samtal kan avbrytas. De kan också glömma tiden från innan hjärnskadan – kallad retrograd och anteretrograd minnesförlust – och klyftan i minnet kommer att variera från några minuter till några månader. Men den vanligaste – och den mest besvärande – typen av minnesförlust är kortsiktig minnesförlust. Detta kan yttra sig på en mängd olika sätt. Exempel på detta är att glömma vad som just har sagts, att ha svårt att lära sig en ny färdighet, att upprepa samma fråga om och om igen, att glömma människors namn, att blanda ihop detaljer, att glömma en förändring i rutiner och att glömma var saker och ting har placerats. Det finns ingen garanterad bot för denna typ av minnesproblem, och rehabilitering kommer att försöka hjälpa en person att klara av att använda beprövade strategier. Minnet är dock inte likt en muskel som kan utvecklas bara genom att sträcka på den. Källa: Framgång: Hjärnskadeföreningen. Efter faderns död tvingades han trappa upp sin flaskinsamlingsverksamhet, där han blev upptäckt av en resenär som fascinerades av hans berättelse, och postade på sociala medier där den snabbt spred sig. Beipu byhövding, Liu Chin-ting, sa att familjen får månatligt stöd från Hsinchu Countys socialavdelning, vilket hjälper familjen att klara sig. Socialarbetare gör det också till en poäng att besöka Chen och hans mor under festliga helgdagar, sade han. Men Liu sa att han tror att pojken fortfarande kan ha en framtid om det fanns en medicinsk anläggning som var beredd att ta in och ge honom ordentlig sjukgymnastik och träning. Han sade: ”Han behöver få lite förberedelser eftersom hans mor inte kommer att vara där för alltid, och kanske kan de komma till den punkt där han till och med kan behålla ett vanligt jobb.” Familjen har översvämmats av erbjudanden om människor som vill skicka pengar men Chief Liu, som hjälper till att förhandla, sade att vad de verkligen behöver nu är praktiska vardagsdonationer som silkespapper, ris, salt och sojasås. Han sade: ”När grunderna väl är klara kan det kanske vara möjligt att titta på att ta sig tid att hitta något mer för medellång och lång sikt, men för tillfället behöver de bara överleva.” Chen är under tiden klart glad, eftersom hans dagbok noterar att typ donationer av pengar har översvämmats och han är mycket glad att folk vill hjälpa. Han vet att han är ämnad att glömma allt, men vet också att inget han kan göra åt det förutom att behålla sitt sinne för humor. Han sade: 'Jag läser här om alla människor som vill ge mig pengar, men jag skulle säga ge mig inte för mycket, för det ser ut som om jag förmodligen kommer att glömma var jag lägger allt.' I filmen Before I Go to Sleep lever 40-åriga Christine Lucas, spelad av Nicole Kidman ett liv där hon vaknar upp varje dag och glömmer vad som har hänt dagen innan. I en anmärkningsvärd likhet måste hon påminna sig genom att varje dag skriva anteckningar om vad som hänt henne sedan bilolyckan. Likt: Chens berättelse har lett till jämförelser mellan honom själv och Holywood blockbuster Before I Go to Sleep (2014), med Nicole Kidman i huvudrollen som Christine Lucas och Colin Firth som Ben Lucas. Vad är höjdpunkterna för den här artikeln?
A Chinese man who has remained with a memory lasting only five minutes has found the only way he can cope is to keep writing down every detail of his life in a precious notebook. Chen Hongzhi, 25, from Hsinchu county, Beipu, suffered a serious head injury in a car accident when he was a teenager which has left him virtually without memory, The People's Daily reports. He writes down everything - from the people he meets on the street to the weather - as his injury means he has to start from scratch every day. Memory Book: Chen Hongzhi uses the notebook to write down people he meets and what he does every day after remaining with a five-minute memory after a car crash. Chen suffered the severe brain injury in a car accident when he was 17 years old and spent months in intensive care in hospital. While his body recovered, his amnesia is still so severe that he often forgets things that happened between five and ten minutes ago. The debilitating state also means that Chen cannot remember how to write correctly, so he makes notes in a phonetic 'creep' that mostly only he understands. 'This is my record, I write in it every day, even if it pours down with rain or if I don't go out to do the weed cleaning, I still have to write, 'Heavy rain', he said. "When I get home from some time away, I quickly grab my notebook and write down important things from the day - who I've met, what I've done, how much money I've received from recycling bottles, all that." Life Records: Chen writes down everything from the people he meets on the street to the weather as his injury makes him have to start over from scratch every day. He has even developed his own language. Dependencies: Chen Hongzhi with his mother Wang Miao-chiong, who begins the day by leaving Chen his notebook and reminding him that he is no longer 17. They depend on each other after their father's recent death. Every day when Chen wakes up, his mother, Wang Miao-chiong, must remind him that he is no longer 17 and eight years old has passed. She gives him the notebook so that he can read what has happened in his life since the accident and check important details such as who his friends are and what needs to be done that day. Chen's story has spread online in China after it was compared to that of Nicole Kidman played fictional character in the film Before I Go to Sleep. His condition means Chen can't keep a job so he raises a small amount of money by walking several miles and collecting plastic bottles. Chen also collects wood that he and his mother use to make fire to cook their food. His mother, aged 60, said that the practical system has kept Chen running for years, but she worries about what will happen to him after she has gone, especially given the recent passing of his father. Guide to Life: Chen Hongzhi, 25, has had to write down everything after he suffered brain damage that left him with a five-minute memory, when he was 17. They manage with donations from neighbors and friends in the small village of northern Taiwan's Hsinchu County, who have nicknamed Chen "short-term memorial" because he forgets to have met them within 24 hours. She said that the family had initially hoped that he would go back to school but soon realized that there would be no point. "It had been planned that would go back to school but there was no point because he could never remember the lessons, and has lived at home with me ever since." Before the accident: Chen poses with a pony before a car accident left him with very little memory. Hard Worker: Although Chen has very little memory, he collects wood for his family to use in the stove. The couple are completely dependent on each other, with Chen having his mother there to reassure him of who he is and he in turn gives the physical strength to earn the money and perform household chores. A severe blow to the head can damage the brain and cause both short- and long-term memory loss. The memory is easily damaged by brain damage because there are several structures in the brain involved in processing information, storing it and downloading it. Damage to those parts of the brain can lead to amnesia. Head injuries may trigger memory loss of the period immediately after the accident. A person may seem relatively good, but the everyday memory of events or conversations can be interrupted. They can also forget the time from before the brain damage – called retrograde and anterograde amnesia – and the gap in memory will range from a few minutes to a few months. But the most common — and the most troublesome — type of memory loss is short-term amnesia. This can be expressed in a variety of ways. Examples of this are forgetting what has just been said, having difficulty learning a new skill, repeating the same question over and over again, forgetting people's names, confusing details, forgetting a change in routines and forgetting where things have been placed. There is no guaranteed cure for this type of memory problem, and rehabilitation will try to help a person cope with using proven strategies. However, memory is not like a muscle that can develop only by stretching it. Source: Success: Brain Injury Association. After his father's death, he was forced to step up his bottle collection business, where he was discovered by a traveller fascinated by his story, posting on social media where it quickly spread. Beipu village chief, Liu Chin-ting, said the family receives monthly support from the Hsinchu County Social Department, helping the family make it. Social workers also make it a point to visit Chen and his mother during festive holidays, he said. But Liu said he believes the boy may still have a future if there was a medical facility prepared to take in and give him proper physical therapy and training. He said: 'He needs some preparation because his mother will not be there forever, and perhaps they can get to the point where he can even keep a regular job'. The family has been flooded with offers of people who want to send money but Chief Liu, who helps negotiate, said what they really need now are practical everyday donations such as tissue paper, rice, salt and soy sauce. He said: 'Once the basics are clear, it may be possible to look at taking time to find something more for the medium and long term, but for now they just need to survive'. Chen is in the meantime clearly happy, because his diary notes that kind of donations of money have been flooded and he is very happy that people want to help. He knows that he is destined to forget everything, but also knows that nothing he can do about it except keep his sense of humor. He said, 'I read here about all the people who want to give me money, but I would say don't give me too much, because it looks like I'm probably going to forget where I put it all.' In the film Before I Go to Sleep, 40-year-old Christine Lucas, played by Nicole Kidman lives a life where she wakes up every day and forgets what has happened the day before. In a remarkable similarity, she must recall by writing daily notes about what has happened to her since the car accident. Like: Chen's story has led to comparisons between himself and Holywood blockbuster Before I Go to Sleep (2014), starring Nicole Kidman as Christine Lucas and Colin Firth as Ben Lucas. What are the highlights of this article?
Bilkraschen lämnade Chen Hongzhi med svåra hjärnskador och lite minne. Börjar varje dag med att hans mor påminner honom om att han inte är längre 17. Läser anteckningsboken för att minnas vem han är och vilka hans vänner är. Spelar in allt han gör varje dag och gör anteckningar inför nästa. Story har spridit sig på nätet efter att ha jämförts med film Before I Go to Sleep.
The car crash left Chen Hongzhi with severe brain damage and some memory. Starts every day with his mother reminding him that he is no longer 17. Reads the notebook to remember who he is and who his friends are. Recordes everything he does every day and makes notes for the next one. Story has spread online after being compared to film Before I Go to Sleep.