Kleine-Levin Syndrome is also known as "Sleeping Beauty Syndrome." (Image by Henry Maynell Rheam.)

It takes a lot more than a kiss to awaken Louise Ball, a 16-year-old British girl who suffers from a rare neurological disorder known as Kleine-Levin Syndrome, which causes her to sleep for ten days at a time. Her first episode of the illness, which more commonly afflicts males, occurred when she was 14. There is no cure. An excerpt from Frances Cronin’s BBC piece about her:

“When she wakes up, it takes her a few days to fully come round, and her body is quite stiff so her dancing is affected for while.

‘I’ve never really got upset about it but I sometimes do think ‘why me’, because I’ve always been a normal healthy person. But all of a sudden it happened and there’s no reason why it happened and that sometimes frustrates me.

‘But I’ve got used to it now and learnt to live with it. I’m a special kid.’

The change in behaviour before and during a sleep episode is one of the most upsetting things for Louisa’s parents, who take it in turns to remain with her. Doctors have told the family it’s crucial to wake Louisa once a day to feed her and get her to the bathroom.

But Lottie admits it can take a while to get her to come round. ‘I’ve tried before to literally force her to wake up but she just starts swearing and gets so agitated and aggressive.'”