Nicole,
20, suffers from a condition where she falls asleep and can't wake up,
and how one episode saw her sleep for 64 days straight.
Nicole, who has been
diagnosed with Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) requires 24-hour care, and
first experienced a sleeping episode at the age of 6.
At the time, her doting mother assumed that Nicole was falling ill with flu as she was sleeping up to 18 hours a day.
As a young child, not understanding what had happened, a
disorientated Nicole would not even be able to recognise her mum or
family members.
Her longest episode happened before her 14
birthday at Thanksgiving and all she remembers is waking up in January
the following year.
It took 25 months to get a diagnosis for her
'sleeping spells', which usually start with Nicole getting a headache
and feeling lethargic.
Her mum explained that the sleeping episodes can last from anywhere
between 22 to 64 days straight. When she now awakens from her sleep,
Nicole is unaware as to how much time has gone by.
“At times I miss out on Christmas, birthdays, junior and senior prom,” Nicole recalled, as well as family member's sad deaths.
“Nicole
will sleep 18 hours a day. The only time she wakes up is to eat,” her
mum told the show. “Her eyes are all glazed over. She's in a
sleep-walking phase. We do have to make sure she drinks water. We have
to keep her hydrated.”
Nicole needs 24 hour care, pushing her mum to the brink.
Only 1000 people worldwide are thought to have the condition and so far there is no known cure.
Her
mum said: “My biggest fear is that she's going to go into an episode,
not wake up and maybe when she comes out of it, I possibly won't be
there for her. It's scary living that day-to-day.”
KLS, also known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome,is a rare and complex neurological disorder.- Miror UK
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