Paul Kern can't sleep

Your wounds can be turned into your wisdom. Your stumbling blocks can become your stepping stones if you choose.

Robin Sharma

There was once a Hungarian man who was shot through the frontal lobe of his brain in the First World War. His name was Paul Kern and the amazing thing about him is that after he sustained his injury he never slept again. Never. Ever. And he didn't just live for one more year - Paul Kern went on to live for another forty years in good health. I know this sounds improbable but it's true. He was a medical mystery; a misfit. Instead of sleeping, he would just lie down and close his eyes and rest and nothing would make him sleep: not sedatives, not hypnosis and not drugs.

I was amazed when I read about this. I know this is an extreme case - in fact it's the only case of it's kind to be known about - but I think it's good for me to hear stories like this. My past three years of insomnia have massively impacted on my life, more often than not in a negative way. But it's impacted on my life through my own choice; through my own actions and reactions to the insomnia.

Paul Kern and his story have been largely forgotten. But he's been immortalised by a great Indie band called The Dimes in a song named 'Paul Kern can't sleep.' It's a cheerful, upbeat song and every time I listen to it I smile. I don't know the ins and outs of Kern's tale - I imagined he must have endured a great deal of suffering - but the point is this: he chose to carry on, to work, to live and to love. If a person can do this after not sleeping for forty years, three years of poor sleep is nothing!