Hiccup Girl heading back to Today show

[Carrie Pratt | Times]
Jennifer Mee was a guest on the M.J. Morning Show in March.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Jennifer Mee, the 16-year-old from St. Petersburg whose nonstop hiccups drew international attention earlier this year, will once again appear on NBC's Today show Wednesday morning.

She still has occasional spasms, including some over the weekend, but she's back in school as a sophomore at Northeast High in St. Petersburg.

"She had them Saturday for quite awhile, but then they went away," said Jennifer's mother, Rachel Robidoux. "Whether it's a half-day or a day, she still gets them now and then."

The young woman started hiccuping in class on Jan. 23 and became an international sensation as thousands of people offered suggestions to help her stop. She tried conventional medicine and some nontraditional approaches, consulting a chiropractor, acupuncturist and hypnotist. Robidoux said Jennifer now is taking only Prylosec, a medication used to treat acid reflux disease.

Some of the celebrity she experienced was positive, her family said, but Jennifer also was the object of vulgar and critical postings on the Internet.

She received more attention in mid-June when she ran away from home. More than a day later, she returned unharmed. Robidoux and her husband, Chris, are to accompany Jennifer on the flight to New York this afternoon. NBC is paying the family's travel and lodging expenses.

A network spokeswoman said Jennifer's appearance on the popular morning television program is one of several followups to segments that generated exceptional viewer interest.

-- Mary Jane Park, Times staff writer

Complete coverage: Hiccups heard 'round the world