Integrative Touch for Kids

Rachelle Lee

This month's spotlight is of a woman who epitomizes Integrative Touch for Kids Community Vision. Rachelle Lee came to ITK, along with her family pictured above, as one of our inaugural retreat recipients. Whether through divine intervention, the stars in alignment or the correct Chi balance, Rachelle found herself on the computer one day looking up information on Living Donors for Liver transplants for her son Logan who has been diagnosed with congenital hepatic (liver) fibrosis, an autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease and somehow her Internet search brought up the Integrative Touch for Kids website.

Rachelle immediately felt that she and her family needed to get involved and she contacted Shay for more information. Rachelle and her family's experience at the 1st retreat was nothing short of life changing. She states that because of the retreat, her family is stronger and more bonded then they have ever been despite the struggles they continue to face with Logan's health. Rachelle says that one of the most healing aspects of their weeklong stay was being in a community free of the outside world--a community where they were just another family dealing with the same types of things everyone else was. "The inter-family bonds gave us our hope back. We were suddenly a normal family in the scheme of things, who could then focus just on healing and bonding together". She continues to stay in touch with many of the families from that first retreat.

Her son, Logan continues to receive massage, Reiki and Sound Therapy to help him through his hospital procedures. Events that used to take days in the hospital are now same-day procedures with a marked decrease in the need for pain medications. His physician has become a fan of Integrative Touch for Kids! Logan is not the only one to receive therapies though; the rest of the family has enjoyed massage and done a lot with meditation and positive thinking. It has made all the difference in the world!

The entire family has had many positive changes since that first retreat, and truth be told, I could write an article on each family member and their journey since joining us in '09. Rachelle and Logan have been integral volunteers for the community since their stay with ITK. Logan and Rachelle joined the Tucson Benefit Event Committee last year, and along with husband Ty, they were available the entire week of the 2010 Retreat. They wanted to help in whatever way was necessary to provide for other families. Rachelle says that both retreat experiences were invaluable in their own way and feels like she couldn't pick which one she enjoyed more.

Rachelle's story doesn't stop here; since returning from the last retreat held at Rex Ranch in Amado, she has started massage therapy school. She says she thought about it for years, but during the Healing Retreat she had the opportunity to witness some of the sessions with practitioners as they helped the children and provided a safe place for them to receive therapeutic touch. She watched the transformation of one particular child who initially wanted nothing to do with massage, a child who felt sensory overload by another's touch. The child was suddenly reaching out for a hand to massage him as the week progressed and was connecting with others in an entirely new way. Rachelle felt so moved by this evolution and acceptance she immediately felt that this was what she needed to be doing herself. She is joined at school by Micha Lee, a relative and one of the recipient families who attended this year's Healing Retreat.

Rachelle has been married to her husband Ty for 17 years. They met through a cousin and have 3 boys, James (21), Stephen (17), and Logan (14). Stephen also attended our first healing retreat and found during the course of that week that he has an amazing gift with horses. Stephen has continued to volunteer and work out at the White Stallion Ranch since his time at the retreat.

Rachelle has been working in the TUSD school system as a Health Aide for the last 5 years, so she is no stranger to children and their needs for acceptance. She will no doubt be an incredible addition to our staff of volunteer Healing Arts Practitioners! We look forward to your graduation in July and look forward to seeing what comes next for you. Thank you Rachelle for your amazing contribution to this organization. You are a shining example of what we can accomplish when we open our hearts!

Tina Roche RN,LMT