12-year-old sneezes 12,000 times a day

At first glance Lauren Johnson is your typical 12-year-old. She loves animals, especially her dog, Bo, but sit with Lauren for more than two seconds and you quickly learn she's unique.

"I can't stop sneezing. It goes off about eight to nine times a minute," says Lauren sneezing twice in seven seconds.

On a regular day the 6th grader can sneeze more than 12,000 times. It all started roughly two weeks ago when Lauren caught a cold.

"It was different and I just kind of went with it thinking that it wouldn't last this long, but it's been two weeks now and it just hasn't stopped," said Lauren sneezing six times in the 17 seconds it took for her to say that.

"I know she's miserable. I know this is terrible for her," said Lauren's mother Lynn.

Lynn Johnson's heart breaks every time she hears her daughter sneeze, because after visiting six different doctors and taking 11 different medications, the diagnosis is the same. "Everybody's baffled."

The Johnsons even took Lauren to visit Hope Damon in Virginia Beach, who specializes is psychotherapy and hypnosis.

"My place is just to help destress the family and guide them through the medical and mental health parts of this," said Damon.

As for Lauren, she wants to get back to school. Her constant sneezing forced her family to keep her home for the past two weeks.

"I've had to have homework sent here and I've started having teachers sent here to help me with it," said Lauren.

There is only one time a day that Lauren doesn't sneeze.

"It turns off when she sleeps. Only in a deep REM sleep it turns off," said Lynn.

The most amazing thing is that Lauren learned to adapt. She says sometimes she has no clue she's even sneezing, but still, all she wants is to be a normal 12-year-old again.

"I just wish the sneezing would stop. I mean I feel fine now, but it's just the sneezing going on, and on, and on, and I can't really do anything," said Lauren sneezing 5 times in 15 seconds.