Adam Ritson was one of rugby league's most promising young stars. Newspaper headlines "Million dollar man" proclaimed the youngster's success and potential brilliant future.Adam'sgentle nature and great skill contributed to his enormous popularity.
His huge strength and size meant that Adam was a target for the high tackle - he was unstoppable any other way. But his career ended abruptly in 1996 after a high tackle during a match. Many months in hospital followed and Adam was left with no memory and there was no way he would ever go back to the game again.
When adam retired from rugby league, his faltering short term memory closed many doors to him and his future looked grim and with with no memory Adam had virtually no life at all.
But nobody reckoned with Adam's aunt. Olga Sawtell was incensed that Adam was making little progress. Her story of how she found Membac to help her nephew's memory is a story of courage, heartbreak, love exasperation and fear.
Western medicine had called it a day and it was over to Olga to overcome the odds.
Fate stepped in and she started her research just as Bacopa Monnieri was being introduced to neurologists at an international conference in Melbourne. Olga decided it was worth a try.
Olga then contacted the CDRI (the Indian government laboratory) and secured exclusive rights, and now the family manufacture and sell this patented herbal extract exclusively in Australia.
"It turned out to be the most important 'try' of my life. My memory improved out of sight. I can't play football any more and if I hadn't been able to improve my memory, I'd be getting a lot less out of life than I am now. It took time - good things don't happen overnight," said Adam.
