Local family tell of sleep disorder nightmare

THE mother of a teenager who developed the sleep disorder narcolepsy has spoken of her family’s suffering.

Ballymun
schoolboy Conor Talbot suffers from the chronic and debilitating sleep disorder
that causes him to collapse when he feels any strong emotion and he has
literally fallen asleep head down into his breakfast.

The 15-year-old
is now on medication but even that isn’t enough to keep the disorder at bay.

The sleep
disorder is characterised by periods of extreme drowsiness, sudden naps and
paralysis attacks.

Conor’s mum
Mary Fitzpatrick firmly believes that his condition is as a result of swine flu
vaccine Pandemrix. A report by Irish health authorities into a potential link
between the vaccine and narcolepsy is due to be published in the coming weeks.

However, in a
separate report published last week, it was claimed that it was likely that the
vaccine had contributed to a sudden increase in narcolepsy rates among Finnish
children early in 2010.

The Finnish
study found that the incidence rate of narcolepsy among children and teenagers
under the age of 17 shot up 17-fold after the vaccinations.

And recent figures
from Ireland showed that the swine flu vaccine topped the list of drugs
responsible for the largest number of suspected adverse reactions. A total of
779 suspected adverse reactions were linked to the vaccine between 2010 and
2011, most of which were mild.

Experts say
that because the vaccine was so widely used the figures couldn’t be taken as an
indicator of risk, but health authorities here have identified up to 30 cases
of young people with narcolepsy which are being investigated for a possible
link.

Ms Fitzpatrick
founded a support group called SOUND (Sufferers of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder)
for parents and children affected by the disorder which aims to raise awareness
of the condition.

“I have no
doubt that the vaccine caused Conor’s narcolepsy,

? she told Northside People.

“Conor had been
like every other child his age until he got the vaccination which initially
caused him to get very ill and then over the coming months he got tired and
would fall asleep more often.

“I thought it
was because he was coming into his teenage years but then around May of 2010
everything changed completely.

“He started to
collapse when he laughed or cried or felt any strong emotion.

“His legs would
go weak and he would lose muscle tone in his face and body overall.

“It was
frightening but thankfully he was old enough to tell me what was wrong.

“He would fall
asleep in odd places, it could be anywhere. He literally fell asleep into his
cornflakes one morning.

?

She added:

“It’s been very upsetting for him to come to terms with knowing he’ll have this
condition for the rest of his life. Teenagers have enough to contend with
besides a condition like that.

?

Conor’s
condition was officially diagnosed in October of 2010 and he is now on constant
medication, which he takes three times a day.

“The medication
alleviates the symptoms but when it begins to wear off he starts to lose his
concentration and becomes sleepy again,

? Mary explained.

“He used to be
a bright child but now he finds the days in school very long and his
concentration is compromised.

?

Conor, who
attends St Aidan’s School in Whitehall, is due to sit his Junior Certificate
examinations this year.

Although he can
fall into a sleep state in an instant, he only sleeps for short periods.

On a good night
Conor may be able to sleep for an hour or two because of his disorder and he
often suffers from hallucinations and sleep paralysis where he is awake but
unable to move his body.

Ms Fitzpatrick,
who described herself as

“emotionally shattered

?, said she and parents in a
similar situation

“found each other

?.

“Our children
were perfectly healthy, high functioning people before they received this
vaccination,

? she explained.

“The laws of
probability are very much on the side of the vaccine being the cause of the
narcolepsy.

“The anger I
feel is deep rooted. This is obviously not something we wanted for our
children.

“We know there
have to be other children out there suffering from this condition but it hasn’t
been diagnosed yet and we want to be there as a support for them.

?

Ms Fitzpatrick
believes that if the link between the vaccine and narcolepsy is confirmed,
Conor and all other affected children should be compensated for the

“life they
could have led

?.

For more
information about SOUND, contact Mary Fitzpatrick on 087-06989277.