Rachel
For nearly the first two years of Rachel's life she was like any other toddler. She enjoyed playing with her older sisters and her friends at preschool. But, on June 7 her life was changed.
Rachel had been enjoying a family day at the lake and had just awakened from a nap when her mom, Melissa, realized something was wrong. “She came to me crying. I tried to get her to stop and after a while she finally calmed down,” Melissa said. “But then when I tried to give her a cup, I noticed she couldn’t reach her sippy cup to her mouth.” At first, Melissa thought Rachel might have fallen and broken her arm or collarbone. Then Melissa asked Rachel to go see her father. "I noticed that Rachel could not walk straight," Melissa noted. The Tuscaloosa family rushed her to the doctor. It was in the doctor's waiting room where Rachel collapsed. She could no longer stand on her own.
Rachel was taken by ambulance to Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham where she was diagnosed with hyper-acute onset of transverse myelitis, a neurological condition in which the spinal cord becomes inflamed and causes paralysis. A rare disease where only one to five cases are diagnosed per million people each year. Within hours, Rachel was completely paralyzed. Because her paralysis is from the chest down she had to be put on a ventilator to help her breathe and was placed in the intensive care unit. Three months later, Rachel had gone through several different types of treatments, including chemotherapy.
Rachel spent her second birthday in the hospital but she had made some progress. She was able to talk through her tracheostomy tube and had some movement in her left fingers and her right arm. She was on the ventilator only at night and during the day she enjoyed smiling and laughing with her three older sisters and even taking short trips outside the hospital in her wheelchair to enjoy a water fountain. It took, Chris, Rachel's father, working on weekends so they could afford for Melissa to stay at the hospital by Rachel’s side around the clock.
On weekends her entire family would move into her hospital room sleeping on chairs, on the floor just wherever they could. “It’s hilarious to see a family of five sleeping in a hospital room on the weekend,” Melissa said. “The girls just played with her. They watched TV, played with play dough, helped her to color and to paint. They would also put makeup on her — all of the normal girl stuff.” Rachel loves being with her sisters and very quickly was ready to go home. On the back of the hospital door the family had a countdown for Rachel's release. Rachel was released from the hospital in September which is national spinal cord injury month.
For nearly the first two years of Rachel's life she was like any other toddler. She enjoyed playing with her older sisters and her friends at preschool. But, on June 7 her life was changed.
Rachel had been enjoying a family day at the lake and had just awakened from a nap when her mom, Melissa, realized something was wrong. “She came to me crying. I tried to get her to stop and after a while she finally calmed down,” Melissa said. “But then when I tried to give her a cup, I noticed she couldn’t reach her sippy cup to her mouth.” At first, Melissa thought Rachel might have fallen and broken her arm or collarbone. Then Melissa asked Rachel to go see her father. "I noticed that Rachel could not walk straight," Melissa noted. The Tuscaloosa family rushed her to the doctor. It was in the doctor's waiting room where Rachel collapsed. She could no longer stand on her own.
Rachel was taken by ambulance to Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham where she was diagnosed with hyper-acute onset of transverse myelitis, a neurological condition in which the spinal cord becomes inflamed and causes paralysis. A rare disease where only one to five cases are diagnosed per million people each year. Within hours, Rachel was completely paralyzed. Because her paralysis is from the chest down she had to be put on a ventilator to help her breathe and was placed in the intensive care unit. Three months later, Rachel had gone through several different types of treatments, including chemotherapy.
Rachel spent her second birthday in the hospital but she had made some progress. She was able to talk through her tracheostomy tube and had some movement in her left fingers and her right arm. She was on the ventilator only at night and during the day she enjoyed smiling and laughing with her three older sisters and even taking short trips outside the hospital in her wheelchair to enjoy a water fountain. It took, Chris, Rachel's father, working on weekends so they could afford for Melissa to stay at the hospital by Rachel’s side around the clock.
On weekends her entire family would move into her hospital room sleeping on chairs, on the floor just wherever they could. “It’s hilarious to see a family of five sleeping in a hospital room on the weekend,” Melissa said. “The girls just played with her. They watched TV, played with play dough, helped her to color and to paint. They would also put makeup on her — all of the normal girl stuff.” Rachel loves being with her sisters and very quickly was ready to go home. On the back of the hospital door the family had a countdown for Rachel's release. Rachel was released from the hospital in September which is national spinal cord injury month.