Meet Rachel Leland of ResilientlyRachel in Chandler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Leland.

Rachel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story starts back when I was 13 and began having a series of bizarre health difficulties. I had been an avid soccer player and was always that kid you would see running around barefoot and climbing trees in my neighborhood. But suddenly I was wheelchair bound and bedridden, and in serious pain throughout my body. It took almost a year to find out that I had Lyme disease and several other tick-borne infections. I then began a long hard course of treatment. I was stuck in that wheelchair for over three years until finally, the combination of treatments worked, and I learned to walk again.

Fast forward a few years. I was healthy enough to move out of state for college and I loved the independence and finding my way as a young adult. But before long, my health started mysteriously deteriorating again—though in different ways than before. It turns out there was toxic black mold in some of the university buildings I spent time in. I managed to get my bachelor’s degree and get admitted to a graduate program, but after only a few weeks, I had to drop out of graduate school and address my new health concerns full time.

My mold specialist forbade me from entering any building that hadn’t been cleared for mold. And often I felt too crummy to go anywhere anyway. So there I was, stuck in my apartment all day, every day, doing nothing but taking medication and going to and from medical appointments. Feeling like I had no path to follow anymore was absolutely devastating.

But something beautiful came from my time treating mold illness. One morning, bored out of my mind, I decided to look online and teach myself how to crochet stuffed animals. Then, I was inspired to make them with disabilities and differences. I felt this was a niche that hadn’t been filled, and it was something that could bring joy to children who might never have seen toys that looked like them. I created a whole line of animals with such things as insulin pumps, IV poles, face masks, cochlear implants, hearing aids, or facial differences. Soon, I was shipping out custom orders for my “Select Stuffies” all over the world. Parents would send me photos of their child, and ask, “can you make my daughter an animal that looks like she does?” I even figured out how to crochet wheelchairs and crutches. Creating this business for myself gave me purpose. It gave hope when hope was in short supply.

In time, I recovered from mold illness and got back to “normal life.” I moved to Chandler, Arizona, got married, bought a house, and began working in an elementary school doing speech therapy. Life was good. But then, everything started slipping away again! Ever since starting mold treatment in 2014, I had developed many food allergies and sensitivities. The list of foods I could no longer eat kept growing. I also noticed myself reacting to chemicals. It started small but steadily grew into a full-blown reaction. My face, arms and hands would burn bright red when I went anywhere near cleaning chemicals, candles, wall plug-ins, or anything with fragrance. My body felt like it was on fire and sometimes I had trouble breathing. I had worked so hard to get here, and now I was worried it would all be taken away again. That’s when I learned about a brain retraining program called Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS).

I threw myself into brain retraining. As someone who had been a professional patient for over ten years, I could tell you that I had been through many undesirable treatments. But this was by far the hardest, most demanding one I had ever done. DNRS uses the power of association to help you form new, healthy neural pathways in the brain, which can reverse disorders such as multiple chemical sensitivities and food allergies/sensitivities. But to benefit from this amazing neuroscience, you must be totally dedicated to the process. I did an hour of brain retraining exercises every day for six months. No days off. No vacation. But it got results! At the six-month mark, I could be around cleaning chemicals and perfumes with no problem. I could eat every single food that I used to react to so violently. I can now go anywhere, no matter how many air fresheners there are, and eat anything I want to. Of all the treatments I have done over the years, there has never been one more rewarding, more exhausting, and more life-changing, than DNRS. It gave me another chance and has allowed me to do amazing things like travel around the world and experience what it feels like to finally be healthy. The most gratifying aspect of healing by far has been the gift of keeping the job I love. I am immensely grateful for my speech therapy work, and that each day I get to help children overcome their own challenges.

Please tell us about your work.
I run a blog called ResilientlyRachel, where I document my health journey, with Lyme, mold, and most recently my recovery from food and chemical reactions. I love sharing my story with others going through a similar experience. It helps me feel like everything I’ve gone through hasn’t just been for me…I can help others by bringing them along for the ride.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
A favorite memory of mine from growing up was when my friends and I would climb the redwood trees in our neighborhood. I loved going as high as I could, which oftentimes was well above the height of the houses in the surrounding area. I loved the view from up there and enjoyed sitting and watching the world down below.

Contact Info:

• Website: ResilientlyRachel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientlyrachel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResilientlyRachel/

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