Rachell Moodie, Wesley Chapel, FL

In January of 2009, Rachell Moodie and her new husband, Matt, were excited about life. They were just married 9 months before, purchased a home and theirfirst car together. Can you guess what comes next? They thought babies... butthat is not how their story went.  On January 29th, 2009 they sat in the doctor’soffice when Rachell heard the words “you have breast cancer.” Everythingstopped in that moment. All of their plans flashed before their eyes. Fear anduncertainty filled the room. They proceeded to call their parents as the doctor setup an appointment with an oncologist.At Rachell’s first oncology appointment, the doctor said that he would bereferring her to Moffitt Cancer Center for chemotherapy and we needed toschedule an appointment to place her port. Rachell immediately interjected with“I want to be a mom... I heard that chemotherapy may cause me to lose myfertility!” The doctor confirmed and sent her over to a fertility specialist.  Theydecided to post-pone chemo treatments for 2 weeks while Rachell had fertilitypreservation to freeze some of their embryos for later use.Rachell had 17 weeks of chemotherapy at Moffitt cancer center followed by adouble mastectomy with reconstruction. During her treatments, Rachell greeted other patients and family members with a welcoming smile. She made people feel comfortable. She believes that God has great plans for those who love Him andthat there was a greater purpose for the battle that she was fighting. She learnedto truly rely on Him as a source of joy and strength and that was apparent toeveryone who was in her space.About a week after her double mastectomy, Rachell got a staph infection and thedoctors removed her tissue expanders. This left her feeling less than pretty as a 24 year old newlywed with no hair and no boobs. She experienced depression forthe first time in her life. It may sound bad that so much of her identity waswrapped up in her appearance, but, unfortunately, many women feel this way.She participated in a program through the American Cancer Society called “LookGood, Feel Better” where they taught her how to wear scarfs and wigs and how to apply makeup to create the illusion of eyelashes and eyebrows. It was at this point that Rachell truly understood how much appearance impacted how on feels and how one treats others. This inspired her so much that she now teaches skin care and makeup artistry with Mary Kay!After 5 years (almost to the day) of waiting, 2 embryos were implanted intoRachell’s uterus. Amazingly, one of them worked on the first try and 9 monthslater, their daughter Madelyn was born! She is a constant reminder to Rachell that she is an overcomer and that God has great plans for us even when we don’tsee how it will work out! Just before Madelyn’s first birthday, Rachell found outthat she was pregnant again... the natural way! She was not supposed to be ableto conceive, but she did! In May of 2016, Rachell gave birth to Hannah! She is areminder that God is bigger than any diagnosis or prognosis!Rachell loves sharing her story in hopes that it inspires and encourages others.She is honored to be Vice President of Spark the Way!