PERSEVERE. Northern Illinois graduate Nicole Jeray returns to the pro golf tour.

The 1998 Northern Illinois Hall of Fame inductee couldn’t move. She’d battled fatigue and sleepiness for years as a member of the NIU women’s golf team and later on the LPGA Tour.

But after the paralyzing moment in 1996, Jeray went to a doctor where she was diagnosed with narcolepsy, a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain’s inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. It led to cataplexy; a sudden loss of muscle tone.

Almost 13 years later, Jeray’s health, wellness and golf game are in peak condition as the 39-year-old earned full-field exemption status again on the 2010 LPGA Tour with a fifth-place finish at the 90-hole qualifying tournament at LPGA International Champions and Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Dec. 7.