Who the heck are you and what's this all about???

Well, I'm glad you asked that!

To give a quick synopsis, my name is Rachel Phillips.  I'm "30-something" years old and used to be a professional ballet dancer and teacher.  I danced with the Royal Ballet in London, The Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as with companies in the US including Nashville Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet Society, and in numerous community settings so that people from all walks of life could experience dance first hand.

Rachel Phillips as a professional dancer

I suffered numerous injuries and health problems as part of being a professional ballet dancer but the past 12 years or so, my health began getting worse.  At 30, my body began to completely fall apart.  It wasn't until 3 years ago that I was diagnosed with the rare genetic condition Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which is a connective tissue disorder.  It causes to collagen or "glue" that hold your body together to be faulty which can affect the body in many ways.  I'm extremely hypermobile in all my joints, my skin is extremely fragile, I have "dysautonomia" which causes problems with my autonomic nervous system including heart issues, breathing issues, problems regulating body temperature, etc.  I have a continuous headache 24/7 and I've had 10 surgeries and more tests and medical procedures than I can keep count.

Rachel after her tracheobronchoplasty surgery

But the worst problem is that my airways are failing and I've completely exhausted all known conventional treatment.  My airways collapse completely and without some intervention and hopefully, one day, an airway transplant (which is still highly experimental at this time), I won't survive.

Rachel and her respiratory support equipment with her Service Dog Siena

People are helping in many different ways.  One way, is by donating items of some value that we can sell to raise funds.  That is the purpose of this blog...to have a place to list the items and post pictures.  So, please know that anything that you purchase will go directly to help with my medical recovery expenses.

To read more about my story, see videos, news articles and interviews, please visit http://www.helprachelbreathe.com.  You can also find us on Facebook by joining the HelpRachelBreathe Group on FB, "like us" at http://www.facebook.com/helprachelbreathe , "friend" Rachel at http://www.facebook.com/lifereinspired.  You can even "friend" Rachel's Service Dog Siena at http://www.facebook.com/siadog!

AND we don't leave out the newer and upcoming Google+.  You can interact with us on G+ at HelpRachelBreathe on G+, or add Rachel to your circles by clicking here!