TEEN BECOMES PARALYZED IF SHE LAUGHS

A British teen suffers from a rare disorder that causes uncontrollable muscle paralysis when she laughs. Billie Hodgson, 17, was officially diagnosed with cataplexy, a neurological disorder linked to narcolepsy. Cataplexy causes “sudden and uncontrollable muscle weakness or paralysis” that is often triggered by a strong emotion, such as excitement or laughter or fear. Without much warning, the person loses muscle tone and can suffer buckled knees or total weakness in their face, arms, legs, and trunk. You stay awake and you are aware of what is happening, but cannot move. Episodes typically last for a couple of minutes. Hodgson says the condition leads her “not to be involved in funny situations.”
* This is why she only watches ABC sitcoms.
* “Laughter is the worst medicine.”
* The poor girl. She’s never known the joys of an uncle saying, “Pull my finger.”
* Or watching someone get hit in the groin on “Funniest Home Videos.”
* On the bright side, she crushed it a while back during The Mannequin Challenge.