A woman in pajamas sitting on a bed with a sign.

Project Sleep fundraiser for narcolepsy, sleep health; personal cause for Warwick woman

February 22, 2022/RINewsToday

Richelle Topping is a Warwick, RI resident, active with speaking on behalf of Rising Voices of Narcolepsy, and a sleep health advocate. For the second year in a row, she is participating in the Sleep In, a fundraiser for Project Sleep, taking place March 18-20.

Topping said she is doing this because “It’s important to increase awareness of sleep health and sleep disorders, as well as to combat misinformation – an estimated 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from sleep and circadian disorders, but many are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed”.

As far as her own story, Richelle was diagnosed with narcolepsy in March 2020. This was a very difficult time for her, especially being diagnosed at the start of a pandemic. Finding the Project Sleep community validated her experiences and helped her to realize that she wanted to use her story to help others suffering in the same way.

She chose to advocate for others and raise awareness about the chronic disease of narcolepsy, and went through training to become a Rising Voices of Narcolepsy speaker (one of the programs that the upcoming fundraiser will help support).

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