Hi, friend! I’m Rachel, but you can call me Rach.
I’m so excited that you landed on my site! I can’t wait to share the tools that helped me to recover my health and get my life back after being sick for over a decade.
If you’re sick of feeling defeated from your lack of progress in getting better, look no further. I’m living proof that recovery from chronic Lyme disease, mold illness, and autoimmune disease is possible! I’ll show you the exact method that I used to recover my health, so that you too can recover your health and start feeling like yourself again. But first, I’d like to share my story with you and get better acquainted.
My Story
When I was in my mid-twenties, life as I knew it took a sudden downward spiral when I experienced a health crisis that sent me into emergency surgery. Although the surgery saved my life, it was just the beginning of my decade-long health journey. I experienced one health event after another for the next 2 years until I was debilitated and unable to function.
When 14 doctors couldn’t figure out why I was sick, I was forced to quit my job and drop out of grad school.
By 2012, despite all my previous labs coming back normal, one doctor finally ran a comprehensive autoimmune panel on me that detected elevated antibodies and autoimmune activity in multiple areas. I was completely desperate and flew to San Diego to see one of the top autoimmune doctors in the world, only to be slapped in the face with the sobering words that “there was no cure for my condition and the best case scenario was to learn to manage my flares.”
As the sobering reality of those fateful words rang in my ears, the color drained from my face and nearly sent me into a full-blown panic attack. Picturing myself living in my current state for the next 60 years of my life was more than I could bear. I would’ve rather died than to go on living with a three-page list of symptoms!
After getting home from San Diego with more questions than answers and coming face to face with my new reality for the first time, hopelessness crept in. Several more months past until I realized…
I could accept my poor prognosis, or I could do everything in my power to figure out how to get well.
That’s when I decided that I would do whatever it takes to recover my health! I would get to the bottom of my illness no matter the cost! That’s when my journey took a plot twist! 🙂
A small but persistent prompting inside urged me to keep searching. There had to be a reason that I would go from a healthy twentysomething to nearly debilitated in a relatively short time. That’s when I stumbled on a website that described my same symptoms as being caused from a condition called Mold Bioxtoxin Illness, also known as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). He explained that 1 in 4 people have a genetic mutation that prevents their body from detoxing when exposed to toxic mold.
Once I had a diagnosis that finally made sense, I found a doctor who specialized in mold illness to run labs to confirm the diagnosis. Sure enough, my labs were positive.
That’s when I connected the dots that my health decline had begun shortly after moving into the 1950s house I was renting.
When I realized that the cause of my debilitating illness was hidden right under my nose the entire time, I felt betrayed! After trying everything under the sun and going to 14 doctors, how could something so foundational have been overlooked?! That night, I packed up an overnight bag, moved back in with my parents, and cried myself to sleep.
Though it gave me hope to finally have a diagnosis, there was such little information at the time about the condition and the treatment steps were anything but straightforward. The learning curve for moving out, decontaminating all my belongings, and researching treatment all while feeling sick felt completely overwhelming.
As soon as I was put on a mold illness protocol, I noticed an immediate improvement and my hope was restored that I was finally on the path to healing.
A few months later, I visited Central Oregon with my family for a week and discovered a noticeable improvement in my symptoms. I realized that I could either stay in my familiar hometown and likely stay sick, or I could move to a high desert climate and possibly recover my health. I chose the latter and it was one of the best decisions I made for my health!
Even though I experienced some relief after moving, it took months of strict avoidance of water-damaged buildings and homes before I could wean off my anti-fungal and mold-binder medication without a return of symptoms. It also took time for me to work past my fear of getting re-exposed to mold and work through post-traumatic stress from everything I had survived the last few years.
Nevertheless, life began to turn a corner for the better.
After a year of healing since my mold illness diagnosis, I met my husband, I felt well enough to begin working part-time again, I finished my master’s degree online, and I went on to pursue training to become a holistic health coach.
After coaching chronic illness clients for 2 years and observing that there were layers of emotional and relational wounds that were keeping them stuck, I decided to pursue additional training that would help my clients heal on all levels.
So in 2017, I went back to school to become a Certified Life & Transition Coach at the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). My experience was nothing short of life changing! The skills I learned not only took my healing to the next level but gave me a whole new set of tools to help others.
One year later, just when life and my coaching practice had begun to take off, my health relapsed.
This time I was quick to listen to my body instead of downplaying things like I had been accustomed to doing when I initially got sick. Shockingly, I was diagnosed with multiple complex conditions: chronic Lyme disease, endometriosis, mast cell activation syndrome, and Hashimoto’s.
Although it was validating to get a diagnosis that explained why I felt sick again, it was devastating to have to the life that I had rebuilt put on hold once again due to illness (a dark season I never thought I’d have to relive). After taking time off to pursue some rigorous treatments and apply the coaching tools I learned, I was able to get my health to a stable point again and resume normal life activities.
Today, the majority of my debilitating symptoms have been resolved, I can eat foods that used to make me sick, I can tolerate older homes that used to trigger my mold symptoms, and most importantly, I have my life back! My illness no longer consumes my life. I’m finally achieving my goals and dreams that were on hold for so long.
I’m truly living again!
I wake up each morning with a sense of enthusiasm and purpose in being able to help others recover their health and feel like themselves again. When I think back to when I was so sick I didn’t want to live anymore, I thank God that I didn’t give up…
I would’ve missed out on the BEST years of my life!
I would’ve missed meeting my husband, my fur baby, and all my nieces and nephews, discovering my passion and calling, and feeling a sense of triumph for finally cracking the code to my mysterious illness! I would’ve also missed out on seeing the thriving, empowered woman that I am today and transforming my pain into PURPOSE!
There is HOPE!
There’s a reason you’re still here! Every setback, no matter how devastating, is an opportunity for a comeback. No matter your unique story, I’ll to teach you the tools you need to recover your health and thrive again!
Hardships don’t have to keep us from our dreams. Contrary to popular belief, success and solutions are often birthed from hardships — not in spite of them! We can allow our painful circumstances to cause us to sink into despair, or we can rise up and discover how to thrive again! Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back, it’s about bouncing forward into something new.
I cannot wait to read your recovery story! I’m rooting for you!! You can DO this!
Love,
Rachel
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