31 years old Samwel Opondo, a father of three and a security guard, cannot wake up once he falls asleep. You’ll have to wait for 10 hours for him to stir up from slumber land. No kind of distraction can wake him once he sleeps.
He has been like that since his days in primary school. This has caused him myriad problems, from lateness to work, missing important appointments, to not waking up during emergencies or when visitors come calling.
Gladys Opondo, his wife of eight years, has had to deal with this throughout their marriage; ”I have tried all manner of things to wake him up, including whipping, slapping, banging utensils and even shouting, but all that failed.” She has often complained of not getting enough attention since her husband is always away on duty at night and sleeps for 10 hours during the day.
She has since given up on trying to rouse her husband, but his colleagues and supervisors at work understand his condition and have no problem with his perennial lateness as he compensates by extending his hours on duty. Surprisingly, he rarely sleeps on his job.
The disorder started when he was 14 years old, but he has never sought medical help as he didn’t consider it worthy of a doctor’s attention, despite dropping out of Tinderet Secondary School because he always found himself late to school hence could not manage it.