All members of freshman Sonia Arora’s immediate family came home from a vacation in New Orleans last spring break with a bad stomach virus. But while the rest of her family recovered, Arora did not get better.

Despite being treated for three different conditions, Arora’s doctors are still guessing at what is wrong.

“I used to be afraid that I would never get better and that I would never be able to eat a regular meal without feeling sick,” Arora said.

Her conditions did not allow her stomach and intestines to digest food properly.

“If I went out to dinner, I sometimes wouldn’t be able to eat any food,” said Arora. “Fourth of July, we went out to my favorite pizza restaurant at my lake house, and I couldn’t eat anything because I felt so nauseous.”

After a slow recovery, Arora’s mother Janelle Arora said she is “thrilled to see [Sonia] getting better.”

Sonia is currently being treated for postinfectious functional dyspepsia and gastroparesis. She also has a blockage in her small intestine.

“Finally, [the medicine] started working, and I’ve been getting a lot better,” said Sonia. “I mean, [the diagnosis is] still a guess. I had an x-ray. I drank some barium, which coated the inside of my stomach and intestines, and I had to roll around to coat all of it, and they took pictures and saw my stomach wasn’t pushing out the barium into my small intestine.”

Janelle Arora said they have seen three different gastroenterologists, who specialize in the functions and disorders of the digestive system, and many other doctors as well. But they treated her for the wrong illness many times.

“[Once], they thought I had acid reflux, which a lot of people have, so they gave me acid reducers and told me to not eat so much at night, and that didn’t work,” Sonia said.

She said her doctors have done a lot of experimenting with new medicines.

“I’m kind of just accepting it,” said Sonia. “I mean there’s nothing I can do. I’m determined to get better but I wish the doctors didn’t make such a quick guess to what is wrong with me.”

Sonia’s condition caused her to be out of school for two months. According to Sonia, she felt like she was missing out on everything, especially the swim season when she had to leave the team to stay in the hospital.

“It was sad [when she had to leave swimming], and we’re friends outside swimming, so it was hard not seeing her during the day,” freshman Jaclyn Mattson said.

Janelle Arora said a certain bad period in the hospital was a turning point toward Sonia’s recovery.

“When she was in the hospital, she was really upset, saying, ‘I want to swim,’ and ‘I can’t be here, I need to go to school,’” said Janelle Arora. “She was pretty frustrated and was very upset. And then the doctor came in the next day and was just mocking [Sonia]. It was crazy. It was unbelievable. She mocked [Sonia], like ‘You were such a baby yesterday.’ … She laughed at her.”

Janella Arora said having Sonia’s doctor laugh at her “gave her this huge fire,” and soon after Sonia started feeling better.

Sonia said the experience has made her more thankful for school and for little things.

“Sitting at home and watching TV all day might be fun for some,” said Sonia. “It was entertaining for me at first. But after two months, I got so bored and just wanted to go back to school, and then I did.”

According to Sonia, her experiences made her want to become a doctor.

“I want to be a good doctor who doesn’t misdiagnose kids or adults,” said Sonia. “I don’t know yet. I just kind of had this idea recently because I see a doctor every other day.”