Stacey Comerford (not pictured) has a rare condition which means that she sleeps through most of her life, The Mirror reports.
The condition is called Kleine Levin syndrome and is so rare that only 1,000 people in the world suffer from it.
Her mum Bernie Richards said: "There's never any warning. I've even found her fast asleep on the kitchen floor." The mother-of-six has described it as like "living with Jekyll and Hyde" because her daughter has such frequent mood swings.
When Stacey is having a sleep episode, she will only wake up to go to the toilet or get a drink. She is incredibly moody and often behaves like a toddler, having tantrums if she doesn't get her own way.
The family from Telford, Shropshire had an extremely worrying time before Stacey got a diagnosis. At first, doctors dismissed her saying that she was just a moody teenager.
She was then referred to hospital where doctors feared that she had a brain tumor. She was also checked for conditions such as epilepsy and narcolepsy.
Stacey's mother was even investigated by the local education authority because they had accused her of keeping Stacey off school when in fact Stacey just couldn't wake up to go to her lessons.
Since her diagnosis, Stacey has to take high dosages of a stimulant drug called modafinil which helps to keep her awake. The drug is improving her quality of life and making her more awake.
Due to the condition, the teen has missed nine exams, her own birthday and has slept through holidays. She wishes to go back to school part-time very soon where she hopes her peers will understand her condition more now that she has a diagnosis.
This is crazy! Will have to do more research on this.
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