Girl Slept 64 Days, Suffers Rare Disorder
Nicole Delien, 17, suffers from a rare disorder that makes her sleep for longer amounts of time than most. Most recently, Delien woke up after sleeping for 64 days, from Thanksgiving into January, which made her miss Christmas.
Delien and her family appeared on Jeff Probst's talk show to bring awareness to the condition known as Kleine-Levine or "Sleeping Beauty Syndrome." Delien will sleep for 18 to 19 hours at a time and then wake only to eat before going back to sleep. Her mother said that she hoped to bring awareness of the syndrome to other families who may be struggling to find a diagnosis.
"Affected individuals may go for a period of weeks, months or even years without experiencing any symptoms and then they reappear with little warning," the syndrome's website states.
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When sufferers are awake, they may not be fully conscious or alert and have episodes of binge-eating or hyper-sexuality, medical journals report. There's nothing to be done when one is fully asleep, except let the person sleep and make him/her eat from time to time.
Earlier this year the world learned of Stacey Comerford, who also suffers from Kleine-Levin Syndrome.
The teen "can be quite moody when she's in sleep mood but she can't help it," her mother told the Daily Mail. "She's like a toddler who wants to do things her own way. It's like having two different kids in the house."
WebMD said it is "a rare disorder characterized by the need for excessive amounts of sleep, excessive food intake and behavioral changes." It usually affects teenage males, but can definitely affect young women, as seen in Comerford and Delien's ordeals.
The disorder can cause problems with school, family, and friends who don't understand its requirements. As Comerford's mother said, "We can't plan anything because Stacey might be asleep. She could go to sleep tonight and wake up next week."
Delien is fearful that she might miss out on much more if she falls asleep again, she told KDKA News. Comerford and her family, meanwhile, say they try to "laugh and joke about it" in order to make the situation bearable.
