Alice was doubled over in agony again, as she was rushed into hospital with that familiar griping pain and vomiting. 

Many Doctors would be unfamiliar with the illness, Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome. With less than 500 reported cases, it's unsurprising. It's symptoms? Severe pain, vomiting after meals and a sudden drop in weight. Alice was a sufferer of this painful illness. The worst part of the syndrome however, is just how undetectable it is. 

Unfortunately for Alice, no Doctor could diagnose her. With no clear anatomical anomalies and her sudden loss of weight, the Doctors came to a conclusion - Alice had an eating disorder. Even saying, "You need to stop lying and accept that you have an eating disorder". 

According to experts, as many as one in six patients are misdiagnosed. And with a condition as rare as SMA syndrome, some would agree a misdiagnosis was almost inevitable. Though Alice wasn't the first person to be misdiagnosed with anorexia, as many with SMA have suffered the same misdiagnosis.

Despite Alice and her Mum's insistence that it wasn't an eating disorder, she was referred to CAMHS - 'Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services'. The CAMHS website describes itself as an NHS service that treats 'young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties'. 

As a result of her misdiagnosis and lack of proper treatment, Alice's pain and sickness worsened. This started to have an effect on her education, as she found herself unable to attend school. CAMHS were obligated to inform Alice's school. 

The headteacher decided to address the whole school in an assembly: "You may have noticed that Alice has been absent a lot recently. This is because she has anorexia." A complete breach of her privacy led Alice to be bullied, as rumours of her illness spread. The bullying became so terrible, that she decided to leave school altogether. 

Alice spent the next three years at her local hospital, unable to reach another diagnosis. However, one day (due to overcrowding at her regular hospital), Alice was admitted to St Helier's. Unbelievably, the next day she was diagnosed with SMA Syndrome and given immediate treatment. 

In fact, she even met another person with SMA syndrome. It was due to that connection, that I made a new friend. 

Though the scars of her past were too much for her. Alice and her mum moved back to their home country. A simple misdiagnosis caused her to be in pain every day for three years, with her doctors dismissing her. She was a sufferer of bullying and had lost all of her friends. She missed the majority of her secondary school education and her grades suffered the consequences. And it meant that her initial misdiagnosis of having anxiety and depression, became a reality after years of fighting. 

SMA syndrome is a rare, often misdiagnosed condition. Greater awareness can help others like Alice. For more information, visit https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/7712/superior-mesenteric-artery-syndrome

(Name has been changed to protect identity)