I am a 31-year-old woman, daughter, wife, mother, friend and advocate. I currently work at a domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking shelter in Texas. My life is busy to say the least. I assist clients with community resources and offer referrals that can help them gain independence. I sit with them when they are processing strong feelings, and I entertain their children as they speak to a lawyer or other case worker. I do all these things while sporting my shiny pink glo-in-dark cane. I use this because of a diagnosis that turned my world upside down. In 2021, I was lying in bed watching TV and my hips became numb. I joked with my husband about how I'd been sitting so long my hips went to sleep. As we watched the TV show my legs went numb as well. I was terrified and I was left unable to walk. I went to the ER and test were run, doctors brainstormed different diagnosis and diagnosed me with MS, multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease. I was sent home with little to no information and with a referral to a neurologist. This was a very scary time. I often look back on those moments and think how I would have liked things to have gone differently? I always have the same conclusion. I would have wished I had a social worker who came into the room to ask if I needed anything for the journey home. Who could have explained the referral process to me and could have referred me to community groups or resources that could have helped me with such a big diagnosis. It might have given me something concrete to focus on instead of my mind racing about how I would now get into my home with a walker or wheelchair. This is one of the reasons why I am hoping to obtain my degree in medical social work. To connect with patients and their families to share information that they may not be thinking of in the moment. To check and see what gaps I can assist with closing for the patient and recognize any financial hardships that they may have with a new diagnosis. I think that having a team that consists of nurses, doctors, aids, techs and social workers is a very strong team. I know that I have strong communication skills and the ability to work on a multidiscipline team. I also feel that adding social workers who are disabled to the conversation can only strengthen the team. It is important to give everyone who wants a seat at the table a chance. The more diverse the better. After I graduate, I can't wait to see where social work takes me and my sparkly pink cane! Thank you.