I’ve gotta tell ya that I’m pretty damn impressed with a gal named Joyce.

I first heard about her arduous journey with narcolepsy after reading her story on the Narcolepsy Network site. Apparently, she’s been living with narcolepsy since she was a little girl and started having vivid hallucinations when she was fully awake. Hallucinations are just one of the nasty symptoms that affect people when they’re deprived of REM sleep.

I can only imagine what it must be like for the 200,000 other Americans living with narcolepsy and their loved ones, too.

I mean, it must be horrible and crummy at the same time to be overwhelmed with an intense and sudden fatigue that can strike at any time.

Because narcolepsy affects the sleep/wake cycle, sufferers not only can’t sleep well, when they actually ARE awake, they aren’t always alert. This translates into real nightmares when it comes to holding down a job, parenting, your love life, driving—you name it.

But back to my point about Joyce: rather than giving up, Joyce fought back. Maybe she didn’t have a mighty horse and sword like Joan of Arc, but her persistence and willingness now to share her story with the world is inspiring.

The only thing is, though, whenever I read about someone with a chronic illness—especially when she’s a single mom just trying to get by and raise her kids the best she can—I confess, I want her to find happiness.

I want her to find an effective treatment. But we all know that there is no silver bullet or prince charming to make her life and her condition perfect.

The heroism, to me anyway, comes from inner determination and self-reliance to keep going with narcolepsy.

And that, my friends, is what I think we all need a dose of today: courage!

Do you have narcolepsy? And if so, what words of wisdom can you share to inspire us all? I’d love to hear from you!

Alisha Stone / Margaret Malone