Sleepy Swimming

Hi!  I'm Susan (aka Curly Sue)!  I have been swimming since I was five.  I swam my first open water race in 2001 at 19 and I loved it.   I began traveling for open water competitions in 2006 with a trip to San Francisco for the Escape from Alcatraz swim.  

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My narcolepsy began to manifest also in 2006, when I started to feel tired all the time.  I was not sleeping well at night, waking up exhausted, and sleepy throughout the day. I was finally diagnosed in 2013.  It took years to find the right doses and timings of my medications, and it is still far from ideal, but I am so grateful for every day I am able to wake up and live a somewhat typical life!  I may be the first person with narcolepsy to be swimming in distance open water events!

 

I also have severe depression and have had six inpatient hospitalizations since 2001.  Some days are more of a struggle than others, but overall I am pleased to consider myself a happy person who has not been in the hospital since early 2016!  Though I consider myself to be a "walking pharmacy" between medications for narcolepsy and depression, I am willing to do what it takes to stay well.   

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This site is currently a work in progress, but I look forward to sharing my journey with you.  Thank you for visiting!