Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 6412 msfocusmagazine.org Life with MS By Tony DiGerolamo “My absolute favorite part about working here is the people I work with. I can honestly say I like every single human being working in this building,” Whitney Blake said. Whitney has been a part of the MS Focus family for more than a year, working in our Program Services department as a support services coordinator. Whitney is one of several staff members who spend their days communicating directly with our clients. “I answer about 25 callsadayfromtheMSFocusNationalToll-Free Helpline. We’re here to address any questions or concerns that our clients have about MS Focus and their MS, but we are also here to help with anything else they may need assistance with. We help people apply to our programs, talk with them about treatment options and medical care, or just have a nice chat with them. Anything they need, really, we’re here to try and help.” The support service coordinators listen to our client’s needs, assess their situations, and then work to get them the help they need. When an individual has a need for assistance, a case file is opened and assigned to a supportservicecoordinator.“Ihavenoshortage of cases,” Whitney shared, “and I handle as many as I can in a day.” Whitney alone gets assigned between five and seven new cases every day. “Some may take one day to close, others may take one month. The feeling I get when we can help someone is another one of my favorite things about working here.” Since joining the team in 2015, Whitney has learned all about MS, often directly from the people she has helped. “When I started, I knew MS was an autoimmune disease, but not much else about it.” More recently, Whitney has become a member of our travel team. Throughout the year, she leaves our Florida headquarters to venture out and represent MS Focus at programs and gatherings. “Going to the programs is awesome,” Whitney said. “Spending time face-to-face with the people we help is incrediblyimportant and rewarding.” Whitney Blake