Rachel was a beautiful ginger. Very unique and spirited girl. Rachel was the oldest of three girls.
Rachel owned and operated a successful Hair salon at 21. Her drive rewarded her with purchasing her own home at 24.
She was a figure builder and won many competitions. Rachel was an amazing Artist. She married her high school sweetheart in 2005. Rachel was gifted her grandfathers 1963 Chevy Truck which she refurbished with her father as a teenager. She would participate in many vintage car shows.
In 2011 she experienced a rupture of her cecum. She went through removal of a large part of her colon. She became septic and was put in a coma. She had many surgeries following months and then years of agony. She never fully recovered from the rupture. Doctors were unable to help or understand why and how this happened. They accused her of drug seeking and being mentally Ill. She became very frustrated and her body was failing her. She was determined to maintain her life. She continued working out and working long hours to keep focus away from her continued pain.
Her situation destroyed her marriage, and she eventually lost her home and salon. She was in and out of the hospital for many years. She became estranged from her family.
In 2016 while vacationing with co-workers she collapsed and died within a short time in an ER. Autopsy showed another rupture: a full Thoracic Aortic Aneurism. She was 33. There had been genetic testing done after the first rupture but diagnoses wasn’t made until her autopsy: vascular Ehlers-Danlos. As a child she had many digestive issues without any diagnosis, hyper-mobile, knock knees, many dislocations and stretchy skin. Rachel was an amazing force. She was athletic very active in many sports and suffered undiagnosed pain her whole life. My heart breaks writing her story.
We never got to say goodbye. My hope is our medical community becomes educated on this disease. That no one should suffer alone. To be dismissed and accused of faking for attention. To be afraid to ask for help only to be turned away for years. My girl was such an amazing gift.
Rachel Lynn Harvey 1983-2016
(Diane Roberts)
