Teh One Who Knocks
02-23-2012, 12:32 PM
By BELLA BATTLE - The Sun
http://i.imgur.com/cRlPu.jpg
STUDENT Alanna Wong is 22 but suffers from a super-rare neurological condition that turns her into a TODDLER.
She has "lost" six years of her life due to Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) which puts her into a deep sleep for up to 22 hours a day.
The incurable condition causes Alanna to have "episodes" in which she becomes baby-like and wanders around like a zombie. She also loses the ability to control her behaviour and speaks in a babbling baby voice.
She even forgets how to READ and — feeling like she is in a dream — gets confused by everything around her.
Mum Diane, 52, a telecommunications worker, said: "It's like she just reverts to being a little girl.
http://i.imgur.com/a6usO.jpg
"She acts like she did when she was five.
"She starts crying and gets so upset, thinking everyone hates her.
"I'll try to make her read a book with me to calm her, but she suddenly can't do it.
Diane was terrified when her daughter developed KLS, aged ten.
She said: "It was so scary when she first got KLS — I thought she'd lost skills like reading and basic maths forever."
Even when Alanna is awake during regular episodes, she remembers nothing of them. It gives her the feeling she has "time-travelled".
Alanna said: "It's like those days never even happened.
"When I eventually come out of the episode, which happens as suddenly as it comes on, I have no idea of what I have been doing."
The attacks come without warning and can last days, weeks, or even MONTHS.
Her longest episode lasted eight months — bringing her life to a complete halt.
http://i.imgur.com/Rzcql.jpg
Normally clean-living, Alanna eats healthily and works out regularly with tennis and paddle-boarding. But during a KLS episode she loses her ability to regulate what she eats.
She explained: "I binge on junk food. I pack in chocolate, pizza and other fatty foods.
"At age 18 I was losing control of my eating through episodes and weighed 13 stone.
"I could gain a stone in just three weeks if an episode lasted long enough.
"Once I come out of episodes I just work out a lot and stay conscious of what I eat to lose the weight again."
She added: "During episodes you lose the ability to regulate what you are doing — like you are a toddler in a woman's body.
"You make embarrassing decisions without considering the consequences, and you remember nothing of them."
Incredibly, it took doctors EIGHT YEARS to diagnose Alanna correctly — and now she is finally trying to have a normal life.
For the first time ever, Alanna has moved away from her parents Randy, 53, and Diane in Seattle to live in Honolulu, Hawaii and focus on healthy living.
http://i.imgur.com/7a0sC.jpg
She said: "At school I started having problems after I got ill.
"I'd go into episodes and fall asleep or shout something in class.
"I got bullied because of my behaviour. Nobody knew what was wrong with me or why I started acting so strangely.
"Nobody, including myself, knew why it was happening. I'm shy so it was really embarrassing."
Because KLS is so rare — mainly affecting men in their 20s — doctors failed to recognise the syndrome in Alanna.
During school years, baffled health professionals suspected Alanna was taking drugs because of her bizarre behaviour, but then discovered she wasn't.
Alanna said: "They even misdiagnosed me with schizophrenia when I was 15.
"The medicine they gave me triggered even more attacks. It was horrible. I just wanted someone to tell me what was happening to me.
"I was losing my life to the episodes, with no memory of what happened during them.
http://i.imgur.com/q1Vax.jpg
"It's like somebody was turning off the record button in my head."
Alanna was finally told she had KLS at age 18 — after Diane read about KLS online and a specialist confirmed it.
Following the diagnosis, she took part in brain scan studies that revealed different areas of the brain shut down during episodes.
Alanna said: "To know what was causing everything was a huge relief.
"I was finally able to say what was wrong with me and explain that I wasn't just weird.
"It changed my life, and now I'm trying to rebuild."
Her condition — which includes a malfunction of the area of the brain that controls sleeping and appetite — means she still can't work or study with others.
She said: "At college, nobody would understand if I went into an episode during a class.
http://i.imgur.com/8Jl9v.jpg
"And I might miss weeks of coursework because I had an attack.
"I'll be focussing on a career I can manage from home with flexible hours."
Alanna is now studying an online course in web marketing which she can do in her own time.
Desperate to help others affected by KLS, she runs charity http://www.klslife.com/ from her apartment — raising awareness and offering support to families.
She also speaks at conferences and is penning a book of her experiences — due out later this year.
Doctors have yet to define what causes KLS. Many sufferers — around 1,000 are currently affected worldwide — grow out of it in their 30s, but some have it for life.
Some theories suggest patients have a genetic predisposition to the syndrome which is then triggered by environmental factors.
Dr Christian Jensen said: "KLS is a rare condition and, therefore, is relatively unknown.
"It can be devastating for people who suffer with it and, sadly, there's no definitive treatment."
http://i.imgur.com/XJUPA.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cRlPu.jpg
STUDENT Alanna Wong is 22 but suffers from a super-rare neurological condition that turns her into a TODDLER.
She has "lost" six years of her life due to Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) which puts her into a deep sleep for up to 22 hours a day.
The incurable condition causes Alanna to have "episodes" in which she becomes baby-like and wanders around like a zombie. She also loses the ability to control her behaviour and speaks in a babbling baby voice.
She even forgets how to READ and — feeling like she is in a dream — gets confused by everything around her.
Mum Diane, 52, a telecommunications worker, said: "It's like she just reverts to being a little girl.
http://i.imgur.com/a6usO.jpg
"She acts like she did when she was five.
"She starts crying and gets so upset, thinking everyone hates her.
"I'll try to make her read a book with me to calm her, but she suddenly can't do it.
Diane was terrified when her daughter developed KLS, aged ten.
She said: "It was so scary when she first got KLS — I thought she'd lost skills like reading and basic maths forever."
Even when Alanna is awake during regular episodes, she remembers nothing of them. It gives her the feeling she has "time-travelled".
Alanna said: "It's like those days never even happened.
"When I eventually come out of the episode, which happens as suddenly as it comes on, I have no idea of what I have been doing."
The attacks come without warning and can last days, weeks, or even MONTHS.
Her longest episode lasted eight months — bringing her life to a complete halt.
http://i.imgur.com/Rzcql.jpg
Normally clean-living, Alanna eats healthily and works out regularly with tennis and paddle-boarding. But during a KLS episode she loses her ability to regulate what she eats.
She explained: "I binge on junk food. I pack in chocolate, pizza and other fatty foods.
"At age 18 I was losing control of my eating through episodes and weighed 13 stone.
"I could gain a stone in just three weeks if an episode lasted long enough.
"Once I come out of episodes I just work out a lot and stay conscious of what I eat to lose the weight again."
She added: "During episodes you lose the ability to regulate what you are doing — like you are a toddler in a woman's body.
"You make embarrassing decisions without considering the consequences, and you remember nothing of them."
Incredibly, it took doctors EIGHT YEARS to diagnose Alanna correctly — and now she is finally trying to have a normal life.
For the first time ever, Alanna has moved away from her parents Randy, 53, and Diane in Seattle to live in Honolulu, Hawaii and focus on healthy living.
http://i.imgur.com/7a0sC.jpg
She said: "At school I started having problems after I got ill.
"I'd go into episodes and fall asleep or shout something in class.
"I got bullied because of my behaviour. Nobody knew what was wrong with me or why I started acting so strangely.
"Nobody, including myself, knew why it was happening. I'm shy so it was really embarrassing."
Because KLS is so rare — mainly affecting men in their 20s — doctors failed to recognise the syndrome in Alanna.
During school years, baffled health professionals suspected Alanna was taking drugs because of her bizarre behaviour, but then discovered she wasn't.
Alanna said: "They even misdiagnosed me with schizophrenia when I was 15.
"The medicine they gave me triggered even more attacks. It was horrible. I just wanted someone to tell me what was happening to me.
"I was losing my life to the episodes, with no memory of what happened during them.
http://i.imgur.com/q1Vax.jpg
"It's like somebody was turning off the record button in my head."
Alanna was finally told she had KLS at age 18 — after Diane read about KLS online and a specialist confirmed it.
Following the diagnosis, she took part in brain scan studies that revealed different areas of the brain shut down during episodes.
Alanna said: "To know what was causing everything was a huge relief.
"I was finally able to say what was wrong with me and explain that I wasn't just weird.
"It changed my life, and now I'm trying to rebuild."
Her condition — which includes a malfunction of the area of the brain that controls sleeping and appetite — means she still can't work or study with others.
She said: "At college, nobody would understand if I went into an episode during a class.
http://i.imgur.com/8Jl9v.jpg
"And I might miss weeks of coursework because I had an attack.
"I'll be focussing on a career I can manage from home with flexible hours."
Alanna is now studying an online course in web marketing which she can do in her own time.
Desperate to help others affected by KLS, she runs charity http://www.klslife.com/ from her apartment — raising awareness and offering support to families.
She also speaks at conferences and is penning a book of her experiences — due out later this year.
Doctors have yet to define what causes KLS. Many sufferers — around 1,000 are currently affected worldwide — grow out of it in their 30s, but some have it for life.
Some theories suggest patients have a genetic predisposition to the syndrome which is then triggered by environmental factors.
Dr Christian Jensen said: "KLS is a rare condition and, therefore, is relatively unknown.
"It can be devastating for people who suffer with it and, sadly, there's no definitive treatment."
http://i.imgur.com/XJUPA.jpg