Rachel was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of six, just a few weeks after her grandfather died of diabetes complications. Five months later, her then 9-year-old cousin Colleen was also diagnosed.

Rachel was a Children's Congress delegate from Ohio last year and has met several times with Ohio congressmen and women. Rachel testified for the Ohio Senate on the importance of testing and maintenance of blood sugar on a bill that would improve insurance coverage of diabetes supplies in Ohio.