Karen Wolk

Karen Wolk was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea in late 2015 at the age of 44. Karen first tried using CPAP therapy for two years and had problems adapting to it. 

Karen’s doctor suggested that a hypoglossal nerve stimulator could be a good treatment option for her, and she received her Inspire implant in July 2018. Following her successful implant, Karen is back to working full-time and enjoying life to the fullest. Her memory has drastically improved, and she no longer falls asleep unintentionally during the day.

Karen is the mother of three adult children and three dogs. She works full-time managing a Petco store and uses her story to help others as a volunteer patient ambassador for Inspire Medical Systems. Karen is also an Advisor at the Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners.

Dr. Meredith Broderick, MD

Dr. Meredith Broderick is a triple board-certified sleep neurologist based in Seattle, WA.  Her passion is combining holistic, preventative, allopathic, and behavioral sleep medicine to optimize health and wellness.  In her personal life, she is passionate about the performing arts and outdoor adventure, and she has climbed some of the highest mountains on planet Earth.  She sees patients one-on-one from her boutique sleep practice, Sound Sleep Guru, and shares from her life and tips as a sleep medicine physician on Instagram and TikTok @sleepdoctormer.

Jody Martin is a husband, Marine Corps veteran, and business owner. He lives in Texas with his wife of 30 years, Rachel. In 2019, Jody underwent testing in a sleep clinic and received a diagnosis of severe obstructive sleep apnea. After a difficult start to CPAP therapy, Jody abandoned it.

Later, when he tried to get help, he was told he would have to go through the entire process again, starting with his primary care doctor. It was a process he was unwilling to repeat. That was until he discovered Lofta, an online sleep apnea home testing company, and was able to go through testing, diagnosis, and getting set up on CPAP therapy entirely from home and with the support of Lofta staff. Jody is passionate about sharing his journey to encourage other people living with undiagnosed sleep apnea to learn about their testing options and get the testing, diagnosis, and treatment they need.

Andrea Ramberg MS, CCSH, RPSGT

Sleep apnea symptoms can fly under the radar, even in the doctor’s office. Are you questioning if you or a loved one has sleep apnea symptoms? If you are living with sleep apnea, did you experience a delay to diagnosis?

About Our Guests:

Sam Kashani, MD

Dr. Sam Kashani is a board-certified Sleep Physician who practices at UCLA Health in Los Angeles. His clinical interests include chronic insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, parasomnias, pediatric sleep disorders, and the associations between sleep, mental, and metabolic health.

Dr. Kashani completed his residency at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Southern California, where he worked with the medically underserved population of San Bernardino County with plans of becoming a primary care physician. Upon completing his residency, he chose to pursue his interest in Sleep Medicine and completed a fellowship in Sleep Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 

Dr. Kashani currently serves as President-elect of the California Sleep Society and is an enthusiastic member of Project Sleep’s expert advisory board.

Bob File 

Bob File is a former major league baseball player living with obstructive sleep apnea.

At Jefferson University Bob was a 2004 Hall of Fame inductee and 2018 Retired Jersey Recipient was one of the strongest all-around baseball players in school history. He is only one of four Rams to have their jersey retired by the school. File was drafted in the 1998 MLB Amateur Entry Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 19th round (561st overall) and went on to appear in three 1/2 seasons for the Blue Jays with 89 appearances across 111.1 innings.

Currently the Sr. Director of Solution Engineering at Ledger Run, Bob provides leadership and oversees Ledger Run’s solution engineering, ensuring successful solution architecture, application delivery, and standing up enterprise tech solutions for life sciences’ business challenges.

Bob is a proud husband and father who enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter.

Download the Could I Have Sleep Apnea Toolkit for more resources: https://project-sleep.com/sleep-apnea-squad-could-i-have-sleep-apnea/

Project Sleep's Sleep Helpline: https://project-sleep.com/helpline/

Project Sleep’s Sleep Apnea Squad series invites listeners to dive deeper into specific topics relevant to living with Sleep Apnea. https://project-sleep.com/sleep-apnea-squad/

Feeling like you might be more than “just tired?” Wondering how to talk about sleep issues with your primary care provider? You’re not alone. In Talking to Your Doctor About Sleep Issues, guests shared insights from clinical and patient perspectives on discussing sleep issues and daytime sleepiness with general practitioners, and how to get referred to a sleep specialist.

About our Guests: 

Joshua Roland, MD

Studied psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he developed an interest in sleep and its role in mental health and well-being. Before attending medical school, he worked in clinical research conducting studies on sleep pharmacotherapies. Dr. Roland completed his residency at Drexel University College of Medicine and then did a sleep medicine fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. He practiced sleep medicine at UCLA, and worked on guidelines for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, as well as serving on the California Sleep Society board of directors. He currently is the medical director of River at Thirty Madison.

Kristen Cascio is a clinical social worker and world traveler from Boston. She was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea at age 31. Kristen now hopes to raise awareness while encouraging others to never feel self-conscious about their diagnosis. As a speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program, she shares her story to increase public knowledge around sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment.

Lauren Oglesby serves as Programs Manager for Project Sleep, and is a public health educator and advocate focused on healthcare and resource accessibility. Recently diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea at age 44 after experiencing symptoms for years, she shares her story to validate and empower others in self-advocacy and healthcare navigation.

Resources:

The Narcolepsy Nerd Alert series invites listeners to dive deeper into specific topics relevant to living with narcolepsy. project-sleep.com/narcolepsy-nerd-alert/

Taylor Dillon is a Filipina-American NERD who loves hiking and dancing in Los Angeles. She was diagnosed with narcolepsy at age 18, and now creates educational resources, the Narcolepsy Nerd Alert toolkits with Project Sleep. As a speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program, Taylor shares her story to increase public understanding of narcolepsy and decrease stigma around sleep disorders.

Lindsay Scola is an entertainment impact strategist and outdoor enthusiast living in Los Angeles. She was diagnosed with narcolepsy at 35 and is now a speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program. Lindsay shares her story of experiencing mysterious symptoms and advocating for her diagnosis to help others with sleep related issues get answers and seek the treatment they need.

Bob Cloud is a retired lawyer living in Northern Vermont. He grew up in Ohio and married an Indiana girl, Margaret, with whom he has two children. His excessive sleepiness, cataplexy, and related symptoms appeared at age 33, during his first year of night law school. Bob practiced family, criminal, and general law for 30 years, during which time he learned to live with narcolepsy. As a Rising Voices speaker, Bob shares how supportive family, creative doctors and pharmaceutical providers, and understanding friends stood by him as a husband, father, lawyer, patient, and occasional fisherman with narcolepsy.

Margaret Cloud has been married to Bob for 52 years. Following a career of 30 years in clinical laboratory leadership for major medical centers and national labs, she moved with Bob to northern Vermont. Margaret’s insights into supporting a spouse with narcolepsy raise issues not often discussed by individuals, families, and professionals.

Jeff Discount is a father of three who enjoys a career as a sales engineer and business development consultant, and has a passion for building both his physique and meaningful relationships. He was diagnosed with narcolepsy at age 40, which provided considerable challenges in maintaining high levels of fitness and balancing important facets of his life. Jeff encourages other people with narcolepsy to connect and learn from each other, and is thrilled to share some of the ways he has overcome his own challenges with this neurological condition.

Narcolepsy + Relationships Toolkit Coming Soon!

Project Sleep's Sleep Helpline: https://project-sleep.com/helpline/

The Narcolepsy Nerd Alert series invites listeners to dive deeper into specific topics relevant to living with narcolepsy. project-sleep.com/narcolepsy-nerd-alert/

Katie Mehin is a project analyst for an educational tech company specializing in empowering adult learners to thrive in higher education. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two elementary-age sons. She was diagnosed with narcolepsy with cataplexy as a college sophomore, almost five years after the initial onset of her symptoms. As a trained speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program, Katie hopes to spread awareness of this neurological sleep disorder to help others in obtaining more timely diagnoses.

Download theCoping With Cataplexy Toolkit for more resources: https://project-sleep.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Coping-with-Cataplexy-Toolkit.pdf

Project Sleep's Sleep Helpline: https://project-sleep.com/helpline/

The Narcolepsy Nerd Alert series invites listeners to dive deeper into specific topics relevant to living with narcolepsy. project-sleep.com/narcolepsy-nerd-alert/

Download the Could I Have NArcolepsy? Toolkit Toolkit for more resources: https://project-sleep.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Could-I-Have-Narcolepsy-Toolkit-Final-2024.pdf

Project Sleep's Sleep Helpline: https://project-sleep.com/helpline/

The Narcolepsy Nerd Alert series invites listeners to dive deeper into specific topics relevant to living with narcolepsy. project-sleep.com/narcolepsy-nerd-alert/

What’s your creative outlet? In this Narcolepsy Nerd Alert, an incredible panel of artists from around the world share their work and discuss the relationship between creative expression and living with narcolepsy.

About Our Guests:  

Ulrike Nordquist is a mother of two, photographer, painter, and Rising Voices speaker living in Sweden. She developed type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy at the age of 38 after receiving the Pandemrix H1N1 vaccine. During the years coping with her new situation, she made her passion for painting and photography into a business that fit her schedule. Ulrike conceptualizes her way of thinking: “I use self-luminous colors to lighten up dark parts in my paintings!”

Silence Hands is a mother of two and a multidisciplinary artist from Tennessee. She was diagnosed with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy at age 35 and wishes to motivate others to listen closely to what their bodies are telling them. As a speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program, Silence shares her experiences with others to improve awareness of narcolepsy and hopes to undo misconceptions of this neurological condition.

Shu Horiike is a freelance designer, web engineer, and digital art director living in Japan. His artwork expresses the specific feelings of narcolepsy and hypersomnia, with the fear of memories being sliced out, anxiety of shaking vision, distorted sounds, and feeling uncomfortable under the gaze of others. Shu is a member of  the Japan Narcolepsy Association, and hopes to use his art to raise awareness of narcolepsy in Japan.

Jonathan Correa is a photography hobbyist and outdoor enthusiast. He was diagnosed with narcolepsy in 2014, more than 10 years after initial symptoms. Jonathan is a lifelong resident of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

Dana Harel lives in Israel with her husband and two children. She is a developmental psychologist and an artist. She was diagnosed with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy at age 34, after living with symptoms since she was 18. Her artwork primarily involves paper craft, scrapbooking and mixed media. 

Jayden Rowland is an art major at Oklahoma Community College. They were diagnosed with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy at age 15 and have been raising awareness ever since. As an artist and speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program, Jayden conveys the struggles of not being taken seriously, achieving a diagnosis, and their ongoing battle with depression and self-acceptance.

Download the Narcolepsy + Art Toolkit Toolkit for more resources: https://project-sleep.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Narcolepsy-and-Art-Toolkit.pdf

Project Sleep's Sleep Helpline: https://project-sleep.com/helpline/

The Narcolepsy Nerd Alert series invites listeners to dive deeper into specific topics relevant to living with narcolepsy. project-sleep.com/narcolepsy-nerd-alert/

Kim Leatherman works with preschoolers with autism and is a health and wellness coach. She was diagnosed with type 2 narcolepsy without cataplexy in her early 40s, but has been experiencing symptoms since her late teens. In sharing her story as a Rising Voices speaker, she hopes to shed light on this invisible sleep disorder and the impacts of living with it.

The Rising Voices Series features a variety of first-hand stories from people living with sleep disorders around the world. At Project Sleep, we believe in the power of storytelling to raise awareness and break down stigma. This is why we train people with sleep disorders on how to share their stories through the Rising Voices training program. To request a Rising Voices speaker for your conference or apply for an upcoming training program, visit: https://project-sleep.com/rising-voices/

Project Sleep's Sleep Helpline: https://project-sleep.com/helpline/

Please note: this audio was originally recorded in 2020. For up-to-date facts about narcolepsy treatment options: https://project-sleep.com/facts-about-narcolepsy/

Kristyn Beecher is a storyteller and news producer from Houston, Texas. She was diagnosed with type 2 narcolepsy without cataplexy at age 24, but had lived with symptoms for many years before that. As a speaker with Project Sleep’s Rising Voices program, she tells her own story and hopes to let others living with narcolepsy know they aren’t alone.

The Rising Voices Series features a variety of first-hand stories from people living with sleep disorders around the world. At Project Sleep, we believe in the power of storytelling to raise awareness and break down stigma. This is why we train people with sleep disorders on how to share their stories through the Rising Voices training program. To request a Rising Voices speaker for your conference or apply for an upcoming training program, visit: https://project-sleep.com/rising-voices/

Project Sleep's Sleep Helpline: https://project-sleep.com/helpline/

Please note: this audio was originally recorded in 2020. For up-to-date facts about narcolepsy treatment options: https://project-sleep.com/facts-about-narcolepsy/