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Teen tries to dispel myths about narcolepsy

Posted at 6:56 PM, Mar 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-12 19:56:08-05

OCONOMOWOC -- is National Narcolepsy Awareness Day, which compelled an Oconomowoc teen who suffers from the condition to try dispel the myths about living with the sleep disorder.

Lukas Hunter, 16, lived with overwhelming drowsiness for years, before he was finally diagnosed in the sixth grade.

The chronic disorder happens when your body does not produce enough of a chemical that monitors your sleep cycle.

Hunter, an Oconomowoc High School sophomore, trained last year to be one of 10 youth ambassadors in the country.

He used his role for the first time with the Narcolepsy Network at a health fair in Waunakee, north of Madison.

"It feels nice to be able to help people out there who have the condition but don't know they have it. That's why I do it, and a lot of people aren't diagnosed for like 10 years," Hunter said.

According to the Narcolepsy Network, about one in every 2,000 people are living with narcolepsy.