Help Rachel recover from double lung transplant

To know Rachel is to love Rachel. And I hope one way we can show our love for her and Travis is through financial support for her healing journey from a double lung transplant. For 10 years, Rachel has battled for her health (and her life) and this transplant can help give her the life she fully deserves. Live lung and prosper!

Hello! I'm Molly, and I have known and loved Rachel (and Travis!) since the Clinton era—starting back in college when Rachel's hair was blonde and magic, and her dry sense of humor and observations on the world instantly won my heart forever. Rachel has always given 100 percent of herself to everything, and I know getting 100 percent back to herself and her family is all that matters to her (and us!) right now.

We know Rachel's recovery will be long and difficult, and it will be hard mentally, emotionally, and financially on her family. I hope by raising these funds we can collectively bring them some much-needed love and relief, and help ease the stress that additional costs of healing and care will have on the family.

What the funds will be used for:

Rachel will be in the hospital for an undetermined amount of time (likely till later Feb), and will need to stay in St. Louis, near the hospital, for 3-4 months or more for daily rehab, doc visits, ongoing tests, etc.

That means she will need an apartment near Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and ongoing daily care. (Her four kids and husband live in KC; so this is a big additional cost that insurance doesn't cover!)

In addition to the housing and living costs while Rachel is in STL, there are weeks/months of childcare costs and lost work time for when Travis is in STL and when Rachel gets home; possible "transplant proofing" costs for their home in Kansas City; travel and housing costs for cartetakers and family to visit Rachel in STL; and all of the additional costs the family has already incurred over the last five-plus years that insurance doesn't cover.

Along with the deep financial costs, the family has spent so much time dedicated to Rachel's health. This has made vacations/time off together impossible for many years. I'm hoping this GFM will give Rachel and her family the financial support she needs while in STL, and maybe even have a tiny bit left over to help them celebrate together. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could help them spend time together somewhere special—a little mini-vactation—after Rachel is approved for travel in a year?

Here's to "lunging" full force into the new year for Rachel and Travis! Let's do this!

More about Rachel's story:

Rachel McElhany received a double lung transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital on Monday, January 16, 2023, after a nearly 10-year battle with lung disease and hypertension stemming from severe pneumonia and a partial lung removal that nearly took her life in 2013.

Since then, she has fought numerous battles with her health, and won them all with a combination of amazing medical teams and her determined spirit and attitude. Those who know her well—and her stories of so many scary hospitalizations, ventilators, and surival—will tell you the amazing medical teams and her positive outlook and determination are only reasons she’s alive today.

Rachel is a wife to Travis and mother of four who has devoted her life to her family and children, ages 3-18. She is a former CPA who left a career in accounting to focus on her kids and her health.

She has built a network of good friends in so many communities, from her book clubs to her Unitarian church to new-mom support groups. (Did we mention that Rachel had a baby during all of this?!) She’s an avid reader and lover of movies, music, and really trashy TV shows.

After the transplant she hopes she can start running again—she was on track to run a half marathon before the pneumonia and wanted to eventually complete a full marathon.

She also wants to be able to travel with her husband and kids, which she hasn't been able to do since her health declined and she went on the transplant waiting list.

Rachel is looking forward to hugging her four kids. She wants to see her oldest son participate in his High School Drum Show before he graduates in the spring, and to send him off to college next year, where he's majoring in Music Performance and Education.

We all know that Rachel and Travis would never ask for financial help, so I’m doing it for them with the hope your contribution will reduce their stress and help with Rachel’s recovery!