Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, indiegogo and GoFundMe have seen their share of people asking support for their latest movies, inventions or what not. But Rachael Farrokh’s crowdfunding page is asking for something more, it’s asking for help in saving her life.
The 37-year-old SoCal resident has been battling anorexia for the past decade and has left the 5’7” Rachael barely tipping the scales at 40 pounds.
In a heartbreaking YouTube video, a skeletal Rachael appealed for help and admitted that “otherwise I don’t have a shot.”
Anorexic actress Rachael Farrokh says only one hospital can help her. http://t.co/dSF5V0MkQZ pic.twitter.com/TmAlQOJWI8
— EntertainmentTonight (@etnow) May 22, 2015
The video also shows the fragile Rachael being carried down the stairs by her husband, Rod Edmonson, who has given up his job to take care of her full-time.
Her extreme anorexia has gotten to the point where she might die if she doesn’t receive the right treatment. Unfortunately, other hospitals are not willing to accept Rachael as her weight has become so low that she’s considered “a liability for them.”
But the ACUTE center for Eating Disorders at the Denver Health Medical Center is willing and able to treat her. However, Rachael and her husband Rod Edmonson needs to raise at least $100,000 to get her in the program.
This prompted the personal trainer to set up the page “Rachael’s Road to Recovery” on GoFundMe and posted the heartbreaking video in a last ditch effort to save his wife.
Edmonson also wrote that it’s his “mission to get her” to the Colorado hospital. He also shared how society often oversimplifies anorexia so “people think it’s just about being skinny and that they just need to eat something and it will be all better.”
It’s a sentiment that’s echoed by his wife, who also hopes that she’ll be able to help others suffering from eating disorders by raising awareness and getting rid of the misconceptions surrounding it.
The couple has already raised more than the needed amount for the specialized treatment so let’s hope that Rachael’s story receives the happy ending it deserves.
