A stranger warned chronically ill Texan she had rare undiagnosed disease in her DMs — it saved her life

Going on the internet and self-diagnosing your symptoms is not always the best approach when it comes to your health. However, in the case of Tori Mosser (@torimosser), a Texas woman who describes herself on TikTok as "chronically ill but chronically blessed," the advice from an internet stranger possibly saved her life. Her latest update, posted on March 16, shows her on Day 20 of her recovery journey.

In a video posted to her TikTok profile, Tori shared that she was diagnosed with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) after "having random vomiting episodes for years." She said, "Out of nowhere, I'll start vomiting uncontrollably all day, and then it'll go away for months." Mosser had four of these vomiting episodes in 2025.

Tori believed that she was suffering from CVS and even said that it was an "exciting diagnosis" because it is treatable, until a random woman "reached out" to her, saying she might be suffering from something more serious. Tori shared a video soon after, explaining in the caption, "Ella reached out and warned me that my 'worsening CVS' could be chronic appendicitis instead. As of right now, that is deemed true by the doctors, and they removed my appendix... Ella, you are the BEST and possibly saved my life."

Tori's TikTok content is focused on her health and raising awareness about some of the disorders she was diagnosed with. She has been regularly updating her followers on her "appendix removal surgery recovery." The latest video update, she wrote, "18 days post appendectomy." She spoke about how she opted for "no glue" because of her allergies, and decided to go with strips, but somehow, her body reacted to it, and 18 days later, her scars are still itching.

Tori shared her previous diagnoses with her followers in an older video. She revealed that she was a "premie baby," born a month before her due date. Growing up, she was always sick during birthdays and holidays, had breathing issues, and was allergic to almost everything. She also mentioned that she was an anxious child. It wasn't until she was 16 years old that she was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and Panic Disorder. As a young adult, she was also diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, POTS, and Endometriosis.

Tori is not the first individual whose appendicitis was missed during the initial diagnosis. Research on "Misdiagnosis of Acute Appendicitis in the Emergency Department" by Weinberger et al. was done by evaluating "the medical records of patients with acute appendicitis and periappendicular abscess from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2016." The results from the study show, "7.1% of patients were missed during their first encounter in the ED... Periappendicular abscess was attributable to late referral rather than a missed diagnosis in most patients."

Tori Mosser's video about Ella's "warning" has reached over 2.5 million views on TikTok. With over 800 comments, several TikTok users also shared their own appendicitis stories in the comment section. @user54321 commented, "I had chronic appendicitis for 2 year being chronically ill. My doctor prescribed me anxiety meds. Every ER visit and CT said nothing was wrong. Finally someone believed me and had surgery. Pathology showed chronic appendicitis and surgery cured me!" @troopbeverlyhills wrote, "You can also have endometriosis on your appendix that mimics appendicitis. Happened to me!" @ee_bee🇨🇦 said, "I just found out I had chronic appendicitis & got mine removed too. Never knew it was a thing."

You can follow Tori Mosser (@torimosser) for more chronic illness-related content and health updates.

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