Katelyn Thornley, a schoolgirl suffering from a rare medical condition, experiences relentless sneezing that is not only bothersome but also seriously painful.
Her body remains in a constant state of anticipation, bracing itself for the next uncontrollable sneeze that erupts from her nose.
The condition is so persistent that it even affects her during sleep, as she continues to sneeze in her dreams.
Katelyn's condition first appeared when she was 12 years old, just after a clarinet lesson at her Texas school.
Initially, the sneezing started in small bursts, leading her to believe it might be an allergic reaction or irritation in her nose that would eventually subside. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
As time went on, the problem worsened, and Katelyn found herself sneezing up to 20 times per minute.
This astonishing frequency accumulated to an astounding 12,000 sneezes per day.
She said: "It was just a few sneezes here and there, but by the time I went to bed, I had sneezed 30 times that night."
As the weeks passed, Katelyn's sneezing episodes intensified, lasting for up to 15 minutes at a time. This means it is nearly impossible for her to complete a sentence or engage in activities without interruption.
She had to discontinue her attendance at school and give up playing the clarinet in the band due to her rare medical condition.
Her mum Erika Hodges said: "She can't go to school or do anything normal. She can't eat well, she has to sip. She can't drink. It's affected everything."
Despite the efforts of medical professionals at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, the exact cause of Katelyn's incessant sneezing remained a mystery.
The doctors were unable to provide the underlying reason behind her condition, leaving them puzzled.
Before her story went viral in September 2015, Katelyn had already sought help from six different doctors.
These medical professionals conducted thorough examinations and tests, ruling out allergies and viral infections as potential causes of her condition. However, the real cause remains unidentified.
Katelyn's father, Travis said: "She was screaming in pain a couple of times and all I can do is just hold her tight and wait for her to go to sleep."
"It's hard to watch. Anything you talk to her about that irritates here – you can see it spike and continuous sneezing."
"Sometimes I wish I could leave my body for a little while so I could watch myself sleep. Because even in my dreams, I sneeze," the youngster said.
Travis and Erika remained hopeful that someone would eventually come forward with answers regarding their daughter's condition.
They held onto the belief that there might be a medical professional or specialist who could shed light on the underlying cause and provide potential solutions.
To sleep, she had to rely on taking Benadryl, a medication commonly used for allergies, and listening to music by The Beatles as a means to help her relax and drift off to sleep for a while.
