Twenty-five-year-old mother Jody Robson from Birmingham, England suffers from a strange and terrifying ailment.
Although doctors haven’t yet formally diagnosed her, experts believe that Jody suffers from Kleine-Levin syndrome, a rare brain disorder that makes a person unable to wake up from sleep.
Jody became aware of her illness when she was 12 years old and staying with a friend. Jody fell asleep and didn’t wake up until eight days later. And when she finally did wake up, Jody temporarily forgot who and where she was.
Jody’s unusual sleeps can last up to 1-2 weeks and occur up to five times per year.
So far, Jody has experienced 50 similar episodes. She has slept through birthdays, holidays, and Christmases. At most, Jody has slept for 11 days in a row.
Though she appears to be awake during her these periods of sleep, Jody isn’t mentally there. She can move around, but she’s not quite herself.
“One day, she fell asleep at Christmas. She was awake and opened presents and stuff like that. But you tell she wasn’t herself,” her husband, Steven, says.
The disease has been frustrating for Jody, and it has also worn on her relationship with her husband.
But perhaps the most extreme event took place when Jody was pregnant. She has no memory of giving birth to her first child.
The young mother fell asleep the day before it was time to give birth and woke up almost three weeks later—without any memory of having given birth to her eldest son.
It was a shock to both her and her family.
Jody believes that she has KLS syndrome and hopes that she’ll get a diagnosis.
“We live like a normal family, but when I have my episodes, that’s when my life is on hold,” says Jody.
Meet Jody and her family below:
Being sick without knowing why makes suffering intolerable, and it’s easy to see how the confusion only adds to the anxiety.
Please share Jody’s story to help spread information about this rare disease!
Published by Newsner, please like
