Dr. Rachel is a native of the Ft. Walton Beach/Destin area. Her desire to become a doctor struck her as a child and she never dreamed of becoming anything else. Many people's lives are shaped by their past experiences and this holds true for Dr. Rachel as well. At three months old, she was diagnosed with a coarctation of the aorta, which is a life threatening heart condition. After spending her first three years of life in and out of hospitals searching for the “magical cure”, she finally received the needed operation. Her team of cardiologists told her parents to watch her carefully, not to let her play any contact sports, and that she absolutely needed to rest when tired. Dr. Rachel, however, didn't take their words of advice into consideration. She participated in every sport from karate to ballet and as years passed by, not one symptom showed up from her previous heart condition.

Soon she was to start her freshman year of college a the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Florida as a pre-med major in the department of biomedical sciences.