Alyssa Walker

In high school, Alyssa Walker was an amazing athlete. She was on the basketball team, captain of the track & field team, and a star dancer for a private dance company in the city of Indianapolis, IN. As an active civil citizen, she would volunteer and attend church engagements (choir practice and teen ministry bible studies) during the week as well. As a result of being so active, she would often have back to back practices and events, so when she began falling asleep during the day, this seemed normal.

Over time she had trouble getting out of bed and driving over 30 minutes at a time. Her doctor ran tests on her thyroid and when that came back negative, she suggested a sleep study. The study was looking for sleep apnea and came back negative. With nothing physically wrong, she pushed forward and figured out ways to deal with her “sleepiness”.

Alyssa graduated high school and went off to college. During her classes, studying, and even at work, she had trouble staying awake and her grades dropped dramatically. She continued to be an active part of her community by pledging a sorority and volunteering but balancing became unmanageable. She ended up failing every class and considered dropping out. After a mental breakdown from experiencing the side-effects of untreated narcolepsy; she visited a new doctor for psychological concerns but the new doctor recommended narcolepsy as the cause.

Once Alyssa was officially diagnosed with narcolepsy, her quality of life changed drastically for the better. The peace of knowing that there was a name for what she was experiencing was wonderful. This knowledge allowed for treatments in the form of medication, meditation, and other helpful tactics. She was able to focus and stay awake during classes causing her to go from a C average to straight As. After graduating from a top-tier university she became a Flight Attendant. She has turned her passions into her career. She is a social media content creator, travel enthusiast, and professional blogger. Traveling is her passion and she loves to give her readers advice when traveling to different countries. She also shares travel tips and photographs on her Instagram.

Alyssa does not consider herself a victim, hindered, or handicapped by narcolepsy. She understands it and takes control of her life. Alyssa Walker is a conqueror! It is her goal to help empower other people with narcolepsy to live their lives without limitations.

Click here to read all of Alyssa's articles on Narcolepsy.Sleep-Disorders.net