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Meet the girl who’d possibly give Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty a run for her money – a rare disorder means Jade Frazier sleeps for an astounding 16 hours a day.
Ten-year-old Jade has Kleine-Levin syndrome, a neurological disorder characterised by recurring periods of excessive amounts of sleep, and the condition might continue for 10 years or more, according to the Kleine-Levin Syndrome Foundation.
The incurable disease causes Jade to take four naps every day – and if her mom, Dee, dares wake her she throws a tantrum.
The little girl walks around with permanent dark circles around her eyes and slips into an incoherent state after she’s had a sleeping episode.
She even missed Christmas Day after sleeping for 20 hours. Her mom was upset that she wasn’t able to open her presents because she was too disoriented after she woke up.
Jade has fallen asleep almost everywhere, even at the local water park.
"It doesn't matter where we are. She suddenly gets really, really tired and her eyes sink in,” says Dee who’s a waitress.
Jade can’t partake in sports or any physical activity because doctors fear it might prolong her sleeping bouts.
"My heart breaks for her because she isn’t experiencing what a normal 10-year-old should be experiencing,” says Dee.
The mom-of-two first noticed Jade’s sleeping habits after she slept straight through the night as a newborn baby, which is quite unusual for such a young child, and later would fall asleep during school.
The syndrome also causes the youngster to have several developmental delays and affects her speech.
"She definitely sleeps more than other children and she misses out as a result," says Dee.
Sources: metro.co.uk, wsls.com, mirror.co.uk
