A PORTHMADOG mum-of-six has spoken out about her rare nerve disorder which causes her to collapse every time she laughs or gets upset.

Dawn Jones, 40, suffers from cataplexy, a medical condition where strong emotion or laughter causes a person to suffer sudden physical collapse though remaining conscious.

Dawn often goes to hospital with head injuries and has to take a daily dose of several medicines to stabilise her condition.

She said: “Every time I laugh hard or get upset, I collapse and my head falls forward like a rag doll’s.

“It’s scary because I’m awake, but I can’t move until my body kicks back into life. It can last for a few minutes or half an hour.

“I’ve had to learn to hold back my emotions. Some days I can laugh more than others, but it’s changed my whole life.”

Dawn also suffers with narcolepsy, a sleep disorder which aff­ects the brain’s ability to regulate the normal sleep-wake cycle.

It can lead to symptoms such as disturbed night-time sleep and excessive sleepiness throughout the day.

She first developed symptoms of narcolepsy in 2010 while pregnant, but it wasn’t until 2012 that she discovered she also has cataplexy, which has no cure.

She said: “It was terrifying at first. I was scared I’d choke while eating or pass out in the bath and drown.”

Dawn said if she wants to watch or do anything amusing she has to make sure she’s prepared, but she daren’t risk going to see her favourite comedian, Lee Evans.

She said: “My husband, Rhys, wanted to show me a funny clip on YouTube while I was eating. He told me to put my knife and fork down and finish my mouthful. Then he played me the video and of course I collapsed.

“I used to have a great sense of hum­our. My dream is to see Lee Evans live, but I can’t. I watch the DVD and rewind it every five minutes once I recover.

“I would sell my kidney for a cure, I’m so desperate. I feel like I’ve had half of my life stolen, but I try not to dwell on it too much as it makes me cry.”