About Rachel
Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart…” Without a doubt, Rachel has experienced God’s faithfulness and grace in more ways than one. Born in Colorado, she is the youngest of seven children, all of whom were adopted, except for her. When Rachel’s parents were told they could not have children of their own, they felt called to adopt several children into the family. However, to their surprise, the Lord also had plans to bless them with a “little” girl. Some of Rachel’s earliest memories were of her wanting to be just like her older adopted siblings, and she even went through a pretend adoption ceremony with a judge so that she wouldn’t feel left out.
At the age of 14, it was discovered that Rachel had been born with a rare genetic disorder called Turner Syndrome, which affects a female’s second “X” chromosome. According to the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States, "It is estimated that one female out of every 2,000 to 4,000 are born with Turner Syndrome. Turner syndrome occurs in 1-2% of conceptions, and unfortunately only 1% of those survive through pregnancy”. TS can cause many physical symptoms including short stature, infertility, heart defects, hearing loss, difficulties with non-verbal communication and learning, as well as other conditions which require a lifetime of medical intervention.
During high school, Rachel decided to join the women’s golf team for an excuse to get out of chemistry class on tournament days. She excelled at golf and by her senior year was competing at the state championship level. Following high school, she obtained a golf scholarship at a junior college in Scottsdale, Arizona and moved there with her parents. After two years of competition, she won the right to play in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) tournament. She obtained her certificate in Nutrition and Personal training and enrolled in a program to become a physical therapy assistant. Rachel spent her time going to classes, playing golf, working as a certified personal trainer at a gym, and working as an attendant at a local golf course.
In the fall of 2011, she was struck on her car’s driver side door by a truck that was traveling over 50 miles an hour. The collision destroyed both vehicles and resulted in catastrophic injuries to Rachel, which dramatically changed the course of her life. In addition to several broken bones and internal injuries, she suffered a severe brain injury. And even more life-threatening, was the injury she suffered known as an “internal decapitation”, where the violence of the collision caused the major neck ligaments to be torn loose from her skull in addition to her broken vertebrae. Rachel's spinal cord was dangerously close to being severed, and the outcome of this type of injury is almost always either quadriplegia or death. However, by the grace of God, her spinal cord remained protected and intact throughout the accident and transportation to the hospital.
Rachel did not regain consciousness immediately and remained in a self-induced coma for over a month. It wasn’t until several days into her coma that her neurosurgeon was able to determine the severity of her neck injury and advised emergency surgery to stabilize her spine. After several life-saving surgeries, she slowly regained awareness as she emerged from the coma over the course of several weeks. Rachel was discharged and spent many months doing intense physical therapy to regain the ability to talk and walk again.
In the summer of 2012, she was admitted to a special program at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. There at the Center for Transitional Neurorehabilitation, affectionately known as CTN, Rachel underwent an intense year-long therapy program that was focused on helping patients overcome the limitations caused by traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
During this time at CTN, her mom scheduled a time to meet with the local firemen and paramedics who had helped save her life. Unbeknownst to them, several local television stations were invited to film the event. In his interview for the story, the fire chief described Rachel's injury as an "internal decapitation." Due to the sensationalism of the words “internal decapitation” Rachel’s story took off. Days after the local news aired her story, an invitation was made by the producers of the Today Show for Rachel to make a personal appearance in New York City the following week. Over the next several months her story appeared in several articles around the world. Most of the articles and her Today Show appearance are still available on the internet and can be found by Googling "Rachel Bailey, Internal Decapitation".
After completing the CTN program in 2013, Rachel moved back to Colorado where she met and married her husband, Caleb. Recently Rachel and her husband had the opportunity to speak on the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast, which is a part of the international Christian ministry of Joni Eareckson Tada. While sitting behind the recording desk of her hero Joni, Rachel was inspired to start her own podcast featuring the life stories of Christian women who have also undergone great loss and trauma. By calling it “The Authentically Rachel Podcast”, Rachel hopes to bring these real and untold stories to light in a unique and Authentically Rachel way!