The Inside Story: Hamilton teen sleeping her life away
Posted October 18, 2012 7:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An extremely rare disorder known as the sleeping beauty syndrome is robbing a 17-year-old Hamilton girl of the best years of her life.
In 2010, Kaitlyn Terrana started having episodes when she would sleep for as many as 23 hours a day for about eight days in a row.
“I honestly felt like I was drugged for an entire month,” Kaitlyn said.
“I went bungee jumping and I don’t really recall it at all.”
It wasn’t until four months ago that she was diagnosed with Kleine-Levin Syndrome, which affects fewer than 200 people worldwide.
There is no treatment and the cause is yet unknown, but researchers believe it could be an autoimmune disorder with a genetic component.
Click on the video link to watch Kaitlyn’s story.