RACHEL D.

Rachel D. works as an office manager for a non-profit consulting group. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and two children.

It took three incorrect diagnoses over a period of many years before Rachel finally learned she had MS. As a stay-at-home mother of two, she began the difficult task of managing her family life and her MS simultaneously.

Then Rachel discovered the power of technology. Virtually incapacitated by impaired vision and persistent pain, Rachel found strength from her ability to connect to the world via computer.

"It was a godsend," she recalls, "to be able to connect to the Internet and do something as simple as ordering groceries or buying clothes for my children." Ultimately, her confidence in technology even convinced her she could go back to work, despite having been out of the workforce for years.

That confidence has paid off. To compensate for her impaired vision at work, Rachel simply increases the font size of each document she reads. Or, to help her cope with her cognitive delays, Rachel now puts "nearly everything" into her Microsoft® Outlook calendar.

Technology also helps Rachel further her education. She is enrolled in an online certificate program in non-profit management through the University of Illinois and she uses an intranet to keep track of her upcoming assignments, communicate with faculty and students and access course materials. Equally important is the sense of community the Internet provides. In her words, "It's empowering to be able to connect with others who are going through the same thing."

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