Message from Dorothy Hand

15th September 2016

Dorothy Hand, founder of UKAN (the original patient support group from which Narcolepsy UK grew), has told us that she is thrilled that the National Annual Conference is being held here in Manchester this weekend at the Renaissance Hotel.

She reminds us that it was in Manchester in 1981 that the very first meeting was held, so you could say that Narcolepsy UK has ‘come home’.

The two days will see Narcolepsy sufferers and supporters gathering to share experiences and listen to knowledgeable experts talk about this often misunderstood and misdiagnosed neurological disorder.

On a personal level Dorothy recalls an interesting coincidence around the time of the conference, connected to the cinema. It was around 63 years ago that Dorothy, living in Dublin, was on her way to see the film ‘Calamity Jane’ and was involved in a minor motorcycle accident that she attributes as a trigger for her condition due to it being the same time as her narcolepsy symptoms developed. So Dorothy never did see ‘Calamity Jane’, that is, up to now. The day before the conference the film is being screened in the magnificently restored Art Deco Plaza cinema in Stockport. Let us hope that she avoids any mishaps on the way there! The Trustees look forward to welcoming her the following day along with the many delegates booked in for this years conference.