Expressions of my own ‘Narcolepsy with Cataplexy’: Guest Post by Solomon Briggs
Guest Post by Solomon Briggs:
My name is Solomon Briggs and I have Narcolepsy with Cataplexy. I’ve recently self-published a book of illustrations, descriptions and factual information on this complex condition. It is exactly what the title is: Expressions of my own ‘Narcolepsy with Cataplexy’.
As a child I could not raise my arms while being tickled, through my teens the tiredness disguised itself from me, but not to others, through my 20’s I collapsed frequently from Cataplexy.
It was during an internet search of “laughter AND paralysis” at age 28, that I first discovered the word ‘Cataplexy’ and began my journey of grasping the condition, as best I could.
I hope to spread awareness, as Narcolepsy with Cataplexy is very misunderstood, particularly by the general public; unfortunately this is also the case with many doctors.
The illustrations portray depth into the experience of living with the condition and emphasizes the symptoms. My hope is that the book will be beneficial to, some, others out there; with or without the condition. For those without the condition, but close to someone with the condition, understanding is hard. For those with the condition, at first it is very hard to recognize and grasp, at all, the broad complexity of the symptoms.
The illustrations and words within the book, hopefully, can help others to understand better the disease and the symptoms; regardless of the illustrations being of my own expressions.
The book is available in paperback from either CreateSpace or Amazon. The eBook/Kindle version is on Amazon here.
Recently, at this years Narcolepsy Network Annual Conference which was in Atlanta, I had the chance to meet Julie and thanked her for the great work that she does. It was a very good experience and I hope to make it to next years conference; possibly I’ll do some sort of session / speaking.
In the future, perhaps near, I do hope to write and release other books (eventually a memoirs or series of, and one on lifestyle adjustments and/or the juggling of) which dive into Narcolepsy with Cataplexy. Feel free to visit my blog, or facebook page, and you might check out the couple of videos I have on Cataplexy within my youtube channel.
Blog: http://Narcoplexic.com
Youtube: http://youtube.com/righttrash
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
REM Runner’s Note: I love Solomon’s unique visual expressions – my two favorites are ‘Life Coaster’ and ‘Severe’. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with narcolepsy and cataplexy, Solomon!