And according to Rae , that level of support appeared to be infectious , trickling down to all of the field commanders , as well . “ Me being so little , I can hide behind stuff that most people can ’ t . I got behind my tree - I call it my tree because it was the perfect size for me - and I heard one of the field commanders yell , “ Runner are you ready ? I ’ m going to count to three .’ So I gave him a little thumbs up ,” Rae said . “ He counted down , and when he got to three , I just went . Three or four other shooters just started shooting and giving me cover until I got that little blue block into the bin and I made it back . I did that three more times until I was spent .”
“ The commanders this year were amazing , Rae continued . “ Not to disrespect anyone I have played for in the past , but this year they were exceptional . They were constantly telling people where they needed to be , and they really made me feel like I could accomplish anything .” Towards the end of the day on Saturday , Rae ’ s strength began to fade and she injured her foot . So she took the long road back from the farside of the Bridge to Nowhere , around the back of the field , and through the town to the blue insert . On that walk , she shared that she has several health issues including lupus , a benign brain tumor , and recently received a breast cancer diagnosis . In addition to that , her mother is in kidney failure , and was tested for a rare genetic disease that causes chronic stones and tube failure . Cleveland tested positive for the same gene mutation , and she knows that dialysis is an inevitably for her .
She lamented that dialysis will likely mean the end of her paintball career .
As she walked through the net the first person she ran into was the notorious and legendary Daniel “ Barney ” Alamo . Barney has been dealing with renal failure for the last few years , and started dialysis this past April .
Barney with Rachel “ Rae ” Ford
Photo By Cheryl Ellis www . paintball . media
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