Sleepless in Kamen-Kashirsky

A 63-year-old man who hasn’t slept
for more than two decades has been told there is nothing wrong with him
by doctors.

Ukrainian Fyodor Nesterchuk from the town of Kamen-Kashirsky said the
last time he managed to doze off was more than 20 years ago.

"I can’t remember the exact date and I don’t know why it started,
but all of a sudden I found it more and more difficult to nod off until
eventually
I was awake the entire night.
"
I used to read boring scientific periodicals in the hope they would send
me to sleep. But as soon as I felt my eyes getting droopy and put the
magazine down, I would find myself wide awake again. I thought it would
just be a phase but its gone on for over 20 years now and I’ve simply
had to get used to it.

"Now when everyone else sleeps I get stuck into a good book," said
Nesterchuk.
All attempts by doctors to put him to sleep have failed and they now
say there’s nothing wrong with the insurance broker.

Local doctor Fyodor Koshel who has examined Nesterchuk extensively and
has been unable to make him fall asleep, said he has no idea of the cause
of the insomnia and added medically there is nothing wrong with him.

"We have no idea why he can’t sleep, maybe it’s the result of a
past illness. But pathologically speaking, he’s not in any pain and so
there isn’t
anything actually wrong with him," said Dr Koshel.

When the Dowbrigade was a little kid, he never
slept. Or at least that there were weeks at a a time when we were convinced that
we had lain awake all night, thinking. We invented armies of good ghosts
to protect us against the evil ghosts fairy tales
and movies
convinced us were as real as the shadows in our closet. The hours seemed
endless, stretching until the first light of day crept through the window
and
the family started
moving towards breakfast.

Later, during the psychedelic years, we were convinced that, perceptually
speaking, things didn’t really start to get interesting until the SECOND
sleepless night in a row. After 48 hours without sleep the audio hallucinations
start to kick in. But 20 YEARS! This guy needs to write a book so we can
all learn from the Nesterchuk Method…

from Ananova