Rachel’s Story

Rachel is a high school senior who loves to dance and spend time with friends, participate in plays and musicals and compete in pageants like the Miss Amazing pageant, which she won in 2021 – earning the title “Iowa Miss Amazing Teen Queen.”

Her title isn’t the only “amazing” thing about Rachel. From overcoming challenges brought on by seizures to recovering skills after brain surgery, she’s inspired ChildServe team members with her hard work and bravery since she was three years old.

Rachel was born at 37 weeks and was in the ICU for 10 days for apnea/blue spells. She continued meeting milestones until she was two-years-old when an MRI revealed lesions throughout the right hemisphere of Rachel’s brain. Initially, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and was later clinically diagnosed with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis, a rare neurological disease that can cause intense seizures and difficulty with motor skills and speech.

Rachel began her journey with ChildServe in outpatient speech, occupational and physical therapies to help her work towards her developmental goals. By the time she was five, the seizures she was having were so frequent and severe that the right side of her brain was beginning to deteriorate. To put a stop to these damaging seizures, Rachel underwent a hemispherectomy, a rare brain surgery in which much of the right half of her brain was disconnected and removed, at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The surgery was a success, but recovery would take time as her brain learned to compensate and she regained the use of the left side of her body. To help make the transition from hospital to home easier, Rachel spent two months in ChildServe’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Program receiving intensive therapy and nursing care. 

“After Rachel’s surgery, her ChildServe occupational therapist came to our home to look it over, so we knew how to best prepare for her discharge,” said Rachel’s dad, Craig. “We were able to prepare our home with extra handrails, carpeting, a play area and things like that so we had a safer environment for her to come home to.”

After being discharged, Rachel continued to receive outpatient therapies at ChildServe. At 11 years old, Rachel underwent another surgery, this time on her left foot and leg at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul. For one month following this surgery, Rachel returned to the inpatient rehabilitation unit at ChildServe where she worked towards her recovery goals and prepared to transition home. 

“Both times when we were discharged from the inpatient rehabilitation unit, ChildServe had a care team meeting that included our AEA school nurse consultant, her school special ed teacher, brain injury waiver case manager and everyone involved in her transition home,” said Rachel’s mom, Roxanne. “It made for a seamless transition back into the community and home.”

For several years, Rachel continued her weekly therapy at ChildServe and today continues to visit periodically for appointments with Dr. Fred Klingbeil.