MY SLEEPING BEAUTY NIGHTMARE
MEET the real life sleeping beauty - who snoozed for TWO months when a rare sleep disorder took over her life and turned it into a nightmare. Graduate Imaarl Duprey, 23 was in the land of nod for 59 days and acting like a toddler during the episode. She suffers from a debilitating sleep disorder - dubbed Sleeping Beauty Syndrome - which means she can fall into a trance without warning and snooze for 20 hours a day through episodes that typically last ten days. The rare neurological, called Kleine Levin Syndrome (KLS), affects around 1,000 people worldwide and also sees sufferers experiencing extreme exhaustion, paranoia and hysterical behaviour while in the grips of the incurable condition. During an episode Imaarl, a fashion worker of Lewisham, London, relies on round the clock care and assistance from her mum Kerry Griffiths, 46 and sister Shahnequa Duprey, 21.
Other great stories
BATHING BEAR CUB
A carefree bear cub reclines in the water with his feet raised in the air .
SPECTACULAR BODY ART
FROM COLOURFUL autumn leaves to living trees at first glance you might miss these people blended with nature .
IDYLLIC ICELAND
With stunning scenery and otherworldly vistas, Iceland’s rural beauty is inescapable – especially for Hollywood .
N-ICE DAY FOR A CLIMB
CLINGING onto nothing but ice, this brave climber reaches heights of 1000 FEET as he scales frozen solid waterfalls .
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS BROUGHT TO LIFE
BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .
BOY, 6, ALMOST BLIND AFTER ONE-IN-MILLION ALLERGIC REACTION
A six-year-old boy has been left almost blind after a one-in-a-million allergic reaction to antibiotics .
ORDEAL: RAILING HORROR MAN HAD BEEN IMPALED BEFORE
A man who spent 30 minutes impaled on iron railings after attempting to scale an 8ft fence has told of his agonising ordeal - and how he suffered a similar mishap as a child .
PEE-TRIFIED: WOMAN HAS IRRATIONAL FEAR OF TOILETS
A woman with an irrational fear of toilets goes POTTY on the loo and runs away when she flushes, terrified it will swallow her up .
BRITISH BEACH-LIFE SPLIT SHOTS
UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .
SWIMMING WITH WHALE SHARKS
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
TRANS-WOMAN WITH £180K BODY CAN’T FIND LOVE
A transgender model, who has spent £180k on surgery to become a ‘desirable’ woman, has told of her struggle to find a man who is openly accepting of trans-women .
BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .