“While most teenagers struggle to get out of bed in a morning, Louisa Ball might take 10 days to fully wake from her slumber, due to a very rare neurological disorder. So what’s it like living with Kleine-Levin Syndrome? Louisa has slept through holidays, friends’ birthdays and half of her GCSEs. In 2008, aged 14, she had been suffering from flu-like symptoms. She was at her school in Sussex when she started nodding off in class and behaving strangely. “I didn’t know what I was doing, what I was saying, everyone thought ‘hey this isn’t right,’” she recalls. “I was hallucinating and after that I don’t remember anything. All of a sudden it just went blank and I just slept for 10 days. I woke up and I was fine again.” Her parents Rick and Lottie watched their daughter becoming fidgety and with unusual facial expressions as she sank into sleep. The first time was a frightening experience for them, although Louisa herself says she wasn’t scared by the episode, more puzzled. “It was really weird, no one knew what was wrong, we just thought it wasn’t going to happen again. And then four weeks later it happened again.” She was finally diagnosed with Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS). There is no known cause or cure but Louisa says it was good to know what it was and that it wasn’t life threatening.” w/ photo + video

“Neurosurgeons at a hospital in San Antonio are fighting to save the life of an 11-month old baby born with a rare condition that caused his head to swell to more than twice the normal size. ‘Baby Klaus,’ as his parents and local media are calling him, was born with hydrocephalus, a build-up of excess fluid in the brain that has caused his head to swell to more than 130% larger than a typical newborn’s head. After several doctors near their home in west Texas refused to operate or told them that their baby would die soon, the stricken baby’s parents, who identified themselves as Klaus Sr. and Beatrice, found a hopeful savior in Dr. David Jimenez, the chairmen of the department of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Jimenez and his staff inserted a tube in the baby’s head to drain the fluid and relieve the pressure, and the child’s head is already about a foot smaller than it was when his parents brought him in about two weeks ago, San Antonio’s KENS5-TV reported. Still, doctors and hydrocephalus experts said Baby Klaus’s had a particular severe case and that progress would be slow.” w/ photo + video

“A lucky trucker survived a real-life cliffhanger when his overloaded lorry balanced above a 400ft drop after its brakes failed. The lorry – loaded with 40 tonnes of coal – was going too fast to make a turning in Qingzhen, south-west China. ‘The driver had been convinced he was going to die and took a lot of persuading to climb out of his cab and back up the truck,’ said a police spokesman.” w/ photo

“For this price, you’d think they would have included a worm. A Mexican distiller has produced what it hopes will become the world’s most expensive tequila in a platinum and diamond-studded bottle. Hacienda La Capilla’s ‘The Diamond Sterling’ comes in a 1.3-litre ceramic bottle coated in more than 5lbs of platinum. But that’s not all: the bottle is encrusted in more than 4,000 diamonds, totaling 328 carats. The bottle is crafted by renowned designer Fernando Altamirano and is valued at around $3.5million.” w/ photos

“They [will] paid him not to play again.” — BMNW

“Astonished medics are trying to save the hands of tormented Zhang Chuanqiu who was chained so tightly in an illegal prison that his flesh grew over his shackles. Zhang, 27, had been chained to a cowshed in Hunan, southern China, in 2005 after falling out with village officials over a loan to build his house. But his chains had been so agonisingly tight that Zhang’s own flesh began to absorb them. “The only person who did not give up on me was my mother who waited for her time and rescued me,” he explained. Now Zhang is trying to raise the $1,600 surgeons have told him he needs for an operation to remove the chains and save his hands from further infection.” w/ photos

“Super-parents Gil and Kelly Bates love babies so much, they can’t stop having them. The couple, from Tennessee, U.S., celebrated the birth of their 18th child a month ago and are already praying for more. The Bates look set to become the biggest family in the world one day, and are one baby behind the Duggars of Arkansas, who have 19. ‘We will have many more children if God allows it,’ said proud dad Gil, 45, a tree surgeon. ‘Children are a blessing and God has blessed us many, many times.’ Devoted mum Kelly, 43, said: ‘We just love children and every baby brings extra joy to our family. The most exciting time is when a new baby comes. ‘We all wonder are the boys going to be ahead, or are the girls going to be ahead?’ The couple married 23 years ago, and Kelly has been pregnant for almost every year. Their massive brood range includes Zach, 21, Michaela, 20, Erin, 18, Lawson, 17, Nathan, 16, Alyssa, 15, Tori, 14, Trace, 13, Carlin, 12, Josie, 11, Katie, 10, Jackson, 8, Warden, 7, Isaiah, 5, Addallee, 4, Ellie, 3, Callie-Anna, 1, and Judson Wyatt, one month.” w/ photos

“A dog in Virginia has survived being shot in the head twice and left in a ditch for four days. A neighbor is claiming responsibility and says he did it because the dog was being aggressive.” — AP

“This danger mouse met a sticky end when crossing the path of the voracious African bull frog. The pimpled and veiny behemoth has the self-satisfied air of one who takes pleasure in eating a hearty meal, even if it is a live rodent struggling for survival. These carnivorous amphibians have an aggressive temper, can jump 12ft and have tooth like projections called odontoids, which are said to feel like broken glass when the bellicose beasts close their jaws. Senior Tropical House Keeper at Newquay Zoo, Dan Garrick is an expert in feeding these greedy bullfrogs. ‘They are huge predatory frogs that sit and wait for animals to pass by,’ said 30-year-old Dan. ‘They are stimulated by movement and will lunge at pretty much anything that comes within range, including this unlucky mouse. ‘The mouse will die of suffocation or even shock before digestion. ‘If the prey item is too big, the frog can simply disgorge its stomach and wait it out for the next meal. ‘Despite their unsavoury dining habits they are devoted parents and will guard spawn and tadpoles from predators.” w/ photos

“The Loch Ness Monster is no longer a myth.” — ipnutt22