Ms Shanahan was initially diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) in 2015, aged 50; a full diagnosis of MS was made in April 2016. She is married with two teenage children and continues to keep in constant touch with people with MS and community groups. Since she was diagnosed, she has been able to provide the MS in the 21^st Advisory Group with fresh insight into the early stages of MS care in the UK in the present day. She actively looks for something to keep her stimulated and enable an income. When speaking about her MS, Ms Shanahan has explained that coming to terms with the diagnosis has been very difficult. However, she has developed an inquisitive interest in MS, which is helping with her journey to understand it better, as well as to educate family, friends, colleagues and others about the disease. She keeps up-to-date by reading blogs, websites and outputs from patient research groups, looking for all the latest breakthroughs and, ultimately, an MS cure.