For as long as 19-year-old Sofia can remember, eating has made her stomach hurt. Eventually, she was tested for – and diagnosed with - gastroparesis, a condition in which the stomach doesn’t empty properly. Because of the mental health challenges that accompany gastrointestinal conditions, Sofia was also diagnosed with a form of disordered eating called avoidant restrictive intake food disorder (ARFID). For Sofia, her ARFID stemmed from the terrible pain she experienced every time she ate.

In 2022, Sofia’s weight was so low that she was admitted to Children’s Hospital Colorado. That’s when specialists in the hospital’s Pediatric Neurology Program discovered that Sofia had several other conditions, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a blood circulation disorder, along with a very rare hypermobile connective tissue disorder, which affects every system in Sofia’s body. Sofia and her care providers came up with a plan to mitigate her symptoms, including working with the hospital’s Chronic Pain Management Clinic; addressing the socio-emotional aspects of her condition; and working through the medical trauma she has experienced.

Given all that Sofia has been through, she now plans to become a pediatric nurse practitioner to help kids with chronic pain conditions like hers. Her biggest hope is that doctors and scientists will one day find a cure for her condition.