A SCOTS teenager who falls asleep 30 times a day is joining a court class action to demand compensation from a pharmaceutical firm which made swine flu vaccine.
Chloe Glasson received the vaccine in 2009 and shortly afterwards developed narcolepsy which means she can fall asleep without warning anywhere and at any time of the day.
The 15-year-old from Kirkcaldy, Fife, is part of the group suing GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of the Pandemrix vaccine.
Her mother, Rebecca, 32, has just returned from a Narcolepsy conference in Sweden where she was the British representative.
Campaigners say there are 39 children affected in the UK, each of whom could receive around £1m in compensation.
Rebecca said: “I feel so empowered after the weekend in Sweden and learning that we’re all going to go together to the courts.
“The reason we’re all coming together is because this is a European problem affecting several countries there and there’s hundreds of victims. We’ve formed an alliance.
“Chloe is just one of those kids whose lives have been turned upside down by the swine flu vaccine and so now all us parents are standing together, demanding justice for our children.
“These companies need to own up to what they’ve done wrong and take responsibility for their actions.”
Chloe cannot travel independently, falls asleep in class, and found was sleep walking in the middle of the town.
Rebecca said: “I no longer feel hopeless or useless or lonely anymore. I’ve met people who have been through or are going through the exact same thing we are and its invigorating.
“All I know now is that I’m more determined than ever now and I will not give up until someone puts their hand up and accepts responsibility for these children.
“As I understand it we’ll all be going to the court together as a joint action. I’m still unclear on how that will work exactly because I’m not a lawyer but I know we’re now a united front and nothing will stop us getting justice.”
Rebecca says she will now set about trying to get all those children and family affected by narcolepsy caused by the vaccine together and see them support and demand action together.
Chloe made the headlines earlier this year, when it was revealed that she fell asleep 30 times a day, after being diagnosed with narcolepsy which her family believe she contracted from the swine flu vaccination in 2009.
It is thought that one in every 55,000 children who were given the Pandemrix jab, developed narcolepsy.
Researchers, who published their findings in the British Medical Journal, studied 75 children with narcolepsy and found that 11 of these had received the vaccine before their symptoms began.
Since 2011 it has not been given to people under the age of 20 because of the risk of narcolepsy.
Last month, it was revealed that Chloe had won her battle with the government, who had previously said she was “not disabled enough” to receive disability benefits. The government backed down last month, and agreed to pay Chloe and her family up to £537 a month to help her deal with the her chronic narcolepsy.
