The 19th century was an interesting era in Britain as the Medical industry was being modernise and the industrial revolution was underway. Besides these incidents, there was another superb story, still remember with great curiosity.
The story of a girl, who slept at the age of 11 and woke up after 9 years.
The girl was the first case of Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness.
This young girl who suffer from this problem was Ellen Sadler.
Ellen Sadler was born on 15th May, 1859, in a huge family of 12 children.
And Ellen Sadler’s father William Sadler was a farmer, who died young in an accident.
Ellen Sadler’s mother Anne Sadler was remarried to Thomas Frewen.
Until 1871, Ellen Sadler, 11, had shown no symptoms of any illness.
On 29th March, Ellen Sadler slept and didn’t wake up the next morning.
Ellen Sadler was shaken and shouted at but to no responce.
Medical experts from all over the world start visiting Ellen Sadler’s home but were not able to detect anything.
People start coming up with all kinds of techniques but nothing work out.
Ellen Sadler became popular as the sleeping girl and people start paying for small strands of her hair.
Ellen Sadler’s mother use to feed her porridge, milk, and wine via a small teapot.
Feeding a sleeping person is tremendously difficult as we all know.
All these problems were aggravate when one of Ellen Sadler’s jaws was lock.
Ellen Sadler mother would then feed her through a small gap in her teeth.
The medical problem Ellen Sadler suffer from was call as Narcolepsy, which is cause by the lack of Orexin.
Orexin is a brain chemical hypocretin that helps us in waking from sleep.
At the age of 21 in 1880, Ellen Sadler woke up.
But, Ellen Sadler mother had pass away by then.
Ellen Sadler married a farmer and gave birth to 6 children.
Ellen Sadler died in 1901.
Timaru Herald, one of her six children, carry forward this story.
