Sleeping Beauty: A British woman who once slept for six months still hardly wakes up
Beth Goodier, a 22-year—old British woman, has a rare disease — Kleine-Levin syndrome, also known as sleeping Beauty syndrome. It is characterized by periodic episodes of excessive drowsiness: patients sleep most of the day (up to 18 hours, and sometimes longer), waking up only to eat and go to the toilet. One day, in November 2011, Beth fell asleep for... six whole months.
In a good way, by now Beth should have already graduated from university and started working in the specialty "child psychologist". With well-developed communication skills and a wealth of knowledge in her field of activity, Beth was confident that a bright future awaited her. But on the eve of her 17th birthday, in November 2011, Beth suddenly fell into a strange state: for six months she slept 22 hours a day, waking up every day only for a couple of hours to go to the toilet and eat some food.
Over the past 5 years, Beth's mother, Janine, has calculated that her daughter has overslept 75% of the time. Now the 22-year—old girl is one of more than a hundred British women suffering from a rare disease, Kleine—Levin syndrome, also known as "sleeping beauty syndrome". But the reality, alas, is very far from a fairy tale, because young people risk literally oversleeping almost the most important time in their lives. It is known that the syndrome mainly affects adolescents under the age of 16, destroying the hopes of young people for successful exams, admission to higher education institutions and career building.
Currently, another episode of "deep sleep" has come in Beth's life, and nothing — no medications, no loud noise, no requests and pleas — can wake her up. Therefore, her life is spent mostly in pajamas on the couch. On rare occasions when she needs to get to a doctor's appointment, Beth leaves her home in Stockport (Cheshire), but she has to move around in a wheelchair because she is too tired to walk on her own.
All Janine, the girl's mother, can do is just wait for the activity mode switch to finally click in her daughter's head. "It's like day and night. Tomorrow, for example, Beth may wake up and start this race again in order to catch up with the lost time spent sleeping. When this happens, Beth wants to meet her friends as soon as possible and go to the barber shop to make a new hairstyle for herself," Janine said.
One of the few people who really cares about Beth and is always there is her boyfriend Dan: he is 25 years old, he is an elementary school teacher. Beth and Dan met three years ago during the "waking" phase. "He often comes to us and sits at the head of the bed for a long time, talking to her and waiting for the girl he loves to finally return. When Beth wakes up, they diligently restore the relationship. He's a good guy," Janine says.
Beth usually has no more than two weeks to live a normal life, then the syndrome pulls her back into its tenacious paws. "Every time Beth wakes up, I pray that the last episode of deep sleep will be the last. But then some time passes, and I begin to notice how Beth's voice is getting quieter, how she tries to avoid light and noise. Then I realize that soon she will fall asleep again. My heart seems to break every time," Janine shared her sadness.