<div>Rachel’s Story
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<div>Our Rachel, Rachel Blackman, is a beautiful lady with a gentle spirit and a smile that can brighten anyone’s day. She has always been known for an inner strength that reflects her love of God. All who know and love Rachel are nodding in agreement and smiling to recall happy memories of times spent together. All of us look forward to more happy days in the future. This is an outreach to family, friends, and community to share with you a bit of her story and ask for your help.
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<div>About six years ago, Rachel’s journey took an unexpected turn, taking her on a road full of medical challenges. It began with difficult to understand, fast speech. This led us to search for answers in the world of neurology. Five neurologists later, including a week at Mayo Clinic enduring every test known to the field, the agreed upon diagnosis is Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which is a relatively new area of research.
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<div>For Rachel, the progression of symptoms has been debilitating at times. Every day, she faces challenges in balance, walking, speech, and fine motor. Recently, she has endured emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Thankfully, in this process many scary and irreversible diseases have been ruled out. The medical team has described FND to us as a software issue, not a hardware problem. The uninformed may think it is “all in your head” or “mind over matter”. The good news is that with extensive therapy treatments over time, many of Rachel’s symptoms can (and will) improve.
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<div>And so, you may ask yourself… what can I do to help?
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<div>To garner support for Rachel, her loving husband Brad, and sons Peyton and Cameron, we have started a club: “<strong>Team Rachel Turtles”</strong>. This seems fitting for a once and always DZ (Delta Zeta) girl, and after all, “slow and steady wins the race.”
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<div>Here is how you can become a part of the club:
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<div>· Follow <strong>@TeamRachelTurtles</strong> on Instagram
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<div>· Every day, say a special prayer for Rachel
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<div>· Once or twice a month, send an encouraging note, funny thought of the day, etc. to <a href="https://gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">[email redacted]</a> or mail to:
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<div>2346 Bray Ct
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<div>Marietta, GA 30066
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<div>· Consider making a donation to help the Blackman family with medical expenses incurred (i.e. hospital stays, in-home health care, on-going therapies, etc.)
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<div>o Donations can be made through Go Fund Me or by check; checks can be made to “Rachel Blackman” noting “Team Rachel Turtles” in the memo section
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<div>Club members will receive a free gift- so please make sure you send us a message and include your address if you are interested in joining! This pink and green wristband with “Team Rachel Turtles” printed on it will be a reminder to send encouragement. You can take a picture of you and your friends wearing it and send to Rachel. Bracelets will be on the way when we have a record of your interest.
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<div><strong>And finally, we encourage you to <em>please share Rachel’s story</em>.</strong> Her medical journey has been a difficult one, to say the least, and we truly believe the more people we have in her corner- the more strength &amp; encouragement that will supply on her toughest days. Whether they have a personal connection to Rach and her family or not- please feel free to pass this along to anyone who may be touched by the story- there are people fighting all sorts of battles each day and no one should do it alone!
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<div>We look forward to the great support shown for “<strong>Team Rachel Turtles</strong>”!
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<div>With love &amp; many thanks,
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<div>the Blackman and Heflin families
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Joseph Boland

Matthew Naglich

Johanna Schneider

Richard Mundy

Ryan Van Paepeghem

Anonymous

Susan Price

Debbie ODekirk

Donna Hayes

David Bockmon

Denise Lobodinski

Amanda Broadbent

Ansley Daniel

Katherine Wright

Beth Levin

Deborah O’Dekirk

Barrett Johnson

Support Rachel Blackman & family

Support Rachel Blackman & family

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