[sageofages]

I think I would also mention about your illness' effect on your grades and how hard you have worked to bring them up, and that you intend to keep working on bringing them even higher.

when gpa falls because of uncontrollable factors (illness of you, etc) it is much more understandable, than gpa falling cause you were too hungover to get out of bed and go to class.

Emphasizing your efforts to recover, shows your committment to your education and excellence and that can go miles in the determination process.