Support Jolie's Battle with Narcolepsy

In 2021, Jolie was diagnosed with Narcolepsy w/Cataplexy, answering a lifetime of questions for bizarre symptoms. Currently, there's no cure. It can only be managed by medications and lifestyle changes, which she does daily. She's normally a ray of sunshine, but every person has their limits. Right now, she's struggling. Her hospital/outpatient/ER visits between June 28 – Aug 8th total $18,645.70. She needs to pay this out of pocket until everything gets straightened out by her doctors. And that amount of money isn't something they have.

"Cata…what?"

Cataplexy causes sudden, temporary muscle weakness in random parts of her body. They are triggered by strong emotions (Joy, Laughter, Fangirling, Overheating, Fear, Pain, Stress, Anxiety). Who doesn't have strong emotions? A robot. And despite her wish to become an AI superhero, she's not there...yet. Ask her wonderfully supportive husband, Brad (who changed her life for the better in every way). She’s an unstoppable force. Who needs 'logic' or 'reason' when she's bound and determined to never give up, no matter how many times she falls?

Small episodes usually aren't dangerous. They last a few seconds or minutes. If it's her arms, she'll drop things, like her cup of tea. Then, superglues them back together, because they are gifts from her loved ones. If it's her legs, her knees will buckle, or they'll slowly collapse, like a Transformer in reverse. If it's her face, she's speechless, or her speech is delayed. On special occasions, she looks like Two Face, with a half-melted jawline, but for a little while.

The real impact of this illness is no laughing matter. Severe episodes cause a total body collapse. It looks like fainting but isn’t the same. She’s briefly paralyzed but remains fully conscious and aware of what’s happening around her until it passes.

Her medical team said she could have died 3 times in the last 3 months. She’s been experiencing “Status Cataplecticus,” a very rare narcolepsy complication caused by severe serotonin syndrome, which is deadly if not treated properly within 24-48 hours.

“Statawhaticus??” – Jolie’s been having full body cataplexy attacks – repeatedly – for hours every day - without any emotional triggers – since June 28th. So, she’s taking a much-needed leave of absence for her body and brain to recover from this setback. Like most people, she stays silent about her biggest struggles in life. But she has family, friends, and coworkers who want to help. She will be back, but it will take time. She’s a survivor. She’s a Spoonie. She’s a music-loving Goonie.

And Jolie can’t fulfill her life’s purpose of helping others without accepting help when she needs it. She no longer holds shame about her illnesses or survival of C-PTSD. She doesn’t judge others for their challenges.

This current setback will also be temporary. When their rescue dog, "The Mighty Bouj", had his own health struggles, from the combined stress on her health, Brad and Jolie carried him on his walks until he was strong enough to make his own comeback.

There are so many who want what’s best for her. So, after much convincing, she FINALLY allowed us to start this GoFundMe as a way of helping. We want her to see that there are people who want to contribute towards her healing.