Raquel Rodriguez opens up about the health struggles that kept her out of action for several months
WWE star Raquel Rodriguez did an interview with Chris Van Vliet and here are the highlights courtesy of ChrisVanVliet.com…
On battling illness: “So I never really got a full diagnosis, to be honest with you. They said it was mast cell activation syndrome, but I got tested and that didn’t come out positive. Mast cell activation syndrome, for people don’t know, it just means your body is having a constant allergic reaction to everything, like things you were never allergic to before. Your body is just so confused from maybe stress, maybe trauma. It could be a lot of things, but now you just have a sensitive nervous system, and your body is just reacting to anything, like auto-immune. So I’ve always had eczema, even when I was younger, but it was very small areas right here, and so I think it was like 2023 I started seeing a little bit of eczema pop up on my face. I was like this is kind of weird. Maybe it could be some of the makeup because when I was little, makeup made me react. I was like it’s fine, it would come and it would go, it shows up for like a day like today. I think just from having such a long day yesterday and my bag getting lost and a lack of sleep, my body’s immune system is kind of lessened. So after last night’s match, and the makeup and stuff like that I think I had a small reaction just under my eyes and on my neck, which is random, because I don’t put makeup here. So honestly, it’s a puzzle. I’m still trying to figure it out. I still don’t know what it is. I still don’t know what’s triggering me. I think I have a little bit of mast cell, even though I wasn’t tested for it. I think you can still have some sort of it, because my body just reacts at random times.”
On taking time away: “Well at the time that whole year I was actually like these reactions, I can deal with this. I can show up and I can be confident that I don’t need to wear makeup today. I have some eyeliner on, some eyelashes, and that’s about it, a little lipstick and I’m like that’s okay. This is my life, and I want to be open about it. I want people to know who are allergic to makeup that you’re beautiful and you don’t have to wear it. But at the time, a year ago I was swelling up. It was to the point where I was unrecognizable to myself. I was looking in the mirror, and I was like, Who is she? Who is this person? I avoided mirrors, I avoided cameras, I avoided phones. I didn’t want to know anything about the outside world, because I was just in such a dark place physically, and it was physically taxing, but I know that was taking such a big toll on me mentally. I told myself I cannot stay here, that this is right now but this isn’t forever. I have to tell myself that it’s gonna get better. I just kept telling myself that, and I think that really, really helps your mental state when you’re in these conditions and you can’t control it, because it’s out of my control. But I just kept telling myself, this isn’t forever. You’re gonna get through this. And again, my family. I’m so, so blessed because I have such a strong family that was there for me. My six-year-old niece is praying for God to take the redness away. She doesn’t have to do that, but she does that. She does that for me every night. I have amazing friends, Liv constantly checking on me, Jet from makeup always checking on me. Just really, really amazing people that wanted to come visit me, but it was something I had to get through by myself, for sure.”
On continued struggles with the condition: “I think that’s what really crushed me at first too, because this was my dream job, I worked so hard to get here. I did everything possible, and I felt like it was getting taken away from me. I was like, no way I could be a wrestler with red skin all the time. We watched Elimination Chamber from last year, and as Liv and I are doing the commentary, watching it back and stuff my entrance happens and I just started bawling again. Because I remember being in that moment and being in Australia with my face swollen, having to take a steroid shot and having to stay in my hotel, because I didn’t want people to see me that way, and I didn’t want my coworkers to see me that way. I just felt weak, I just felt so helpless and so weak. So it was a really tough re-watch for me to watch Elimination Chamber again last year. But I know everyone’s like, no you should be so proud. You were so brave going out there, like red and with no makeup. But deep down, it was really, really hard for me.”
On being an inspiration: “Oh, thanks. Yeah I really, really hope so, because I know that there’s so many young people out there that are going through this too, and I know how it affected me when I was younger and tried to wear makeup, and I would get reactions on my face. I just hope it really shows younger people that you’re beautiful the way you are. You don’t need to change anything. This is how God made you and just embrace it.”