I Am the Night! A Narcolepsy Fundraiser

"I AM THE NIGHT, but I'm not Batman. I just can't sleep." My name is Nicholas Markgraf, For as long as I can remember, I've always been exhausted and unable to get any proper rest. As a kid growing up, I thought that this constant exhaustion to the point of immobility was a normal thing. Despite the severity, I dealt with it the best I could. But over the years the symptoms have gotten worse. They've affected my career, my relationships, and even my physical and mental health. After years of trying to find an answer, trying over 20 different medications and enduring the side-effects and seeing multiple medical professionals, a doctor finally informed me that my symptoms were a match for a condition called narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder that affects the brain's ability to properly regulate sleep and wakefulness. This causes excessive daytime sleepiness, and insomnia or fractured sleep at night. Even when a narcoleptic can get a full night's sleep in, they don't experience a complete sleep cycle, and so they wake up feeling as if they still haven't slept in days. In time, the illness progresses, leading to other symptoms like sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and even cataplexy (fainting suddenly). However, due to strict medical regulations, I can't get the narcolepsy medications I need without getting proper testing, which costs thousands of dollars. And that's without factoring in the cost of the medications or the doctors themselves! I am so lucky to have such supportive friends who hounded me until I opened up a GoFundMe  so they could help contribute. A couple of my friends even happen to be voice actors and offered to (well, insisted on) running a stream to raise funds.  And so we will be running a 24 stream of the Batman Arkham games on Saturday, March 21st at 6PM PST/8PM CST on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/game_away . I appreciate everyone who pushed for this despite my exhaustion and lack of motivation. I admit I feel really nervous about asking for help like this, so thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me. Join us, even just for the fun of it. Who knows? Perhaps some dastardly rogue (or voice actor) may make an appearance.