GEORGIA CHAPTER
MOVING TOWARD A WORLD FREE OF MS | VOLUME 6 • EDITION 1
MS Expo: Living Now and Looking Forward Saturday, July 20, 2013 Join us for free educational workshops that focus on disease and symptom management, exercise and wellness, advances in MS, carepartner support and more. See page 17
In this Issue: Meet our new Research Advocate Page 3
Don Logana shares his Walk experience Page 4
Update on Medicare Improvement Standards Page 15
1-800-344-4867 Publication of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Georgia Chapter • 1117 Perimeter Center West, Ste. E101 • Atlanta, GA 30338 Chairman • William J. Holley II Secretary • Diane Flannery Treasurer • Keith Keller
Are you looking for a Self-Help Group or Peer Supporter in your community? Whether you just received a diagnosis of MS or have been living with it for a long time, the National MS Society, Georgia Chapter has great programs available to you where you can find support and experiencedbased tips on how to live a productive and happy life with MS.
Chapter President • Roy A. Rangel
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society does not endorse products, services or manufacturers. Such names appear here solely because they are considered valuable information. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society assumes no liability for the use of contents of any product or service mentioned. Information provided by the Society is based upon professional advice, published, experience and expert opinion. Information provided in response to questions does not constitute therapeutic recommendations or prescriptions. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society recommends that all questions and information be discussed with a personal physician. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society‘s mission is to mobilize people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS. © 2013 National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Georgia Chapter
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Self-Help Groups meet regularly for educational and social purposes, allowing members to express feelings and provide support to one another. Members share a belief that positive personal change can happen through individual effort with the support of others. Peer Supporters are trained individuals living with MS, or are a family member of someone living with MS. Via the telephone, our Peer Supporters offer information, companionship, emotional support and encouragement to peers living with MS. There is no cost to participate in a Self-Help Group or Peer Support Program. To request services or if you are interested in starting a Self-Help Group or becoming a Peer Supporter, call the Georgia Chapter Office at 1-800-344-4867 or e-mail Stephanie at stephanie.shapiro@nmss.org See complete listing of Self-Help Groups in Georgia on Page 18.
LIVING WITH MS
Out of Adversity Comes Opportunity There are many important factors to life; one of them is to have a job. In today’s world everyone needs a job. But some people get fired; some get laid off because the company gets shutdown or when they do not have enough income to pay workers. This is especially true in today’s economy. But for some people it is a different story they may have a disease or disability of some sort so they can’t have a job at all. This is the story of my mom.
for three months. Short Term Disability really isn’t all that bad, I know it will be good for her and she will start feeling much better. Plus she’s allowed to keep one of her part time jobs so she still has something to do. She works as a dietitian at a hospital and she loves her job there because she loves to help people.
My mom was really upset when My mother was diagnosed with More and more research she found out that she would not be able to work her main job. Multiple Sclerosis or (MS) about is being done on MS and She told me that she had been seven years ago. MS is a nervous working since she was 13. Most system disease that affects your I believe that [my mom] MS patient’s only work for about brain and spinal cord. It affects three years after they have been the myelin sheath, the material will only get better. diagnosed but my mom made that surrounds and protects it seven years – so she considers your nerve cells. This damage herself lucky. As a family we are trying to find slows down or blocks messages between your the upside for my mom going on disability. For brain and your body, leading to the symptoms example, my sister and I will be able to go to of MS. They can include visual disturbances, college for a lot less then it would normally cost muscle weakness, trouble with coordination which is really great for us, and my dad’s job will and balance, sensations such as numbness, support all of us just fine. prickling, or “pins and needles,” and thinking and memory problems. One important life law in today’s world is to have a job but it’s not the end of the world if you can’t Since my mom was diagnosed it has been very work because I believe God will always provide hard on all of us – especially on my mom! She and everything will be just fine. More and more has over 20 medications that she takes every day research is being done on MS and I believe that and she’s even required to take a shot every night. she will only get better. She’s had to live with MS while working two jobs but a few weeks ago she was given some bad news from her doctor; he told her that because of her Written by Chris L. MS she will need to go on short term disability 9th Grade (STD) which means that she will not be working 28 January, 2013 TOLL FREE NUMBER 1 800 344 4867
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Meet Dr. Deborah Backus Meet our new Research Advocate, Deborah Backus, PT, PhD. Dr. Backus is an experienced physical therapist, educator, and researcher dedicated to improving outcomes for people with neurological injury or disease, specifically multiple sclerosis (MS). She received her B.S. in Physical Therapy in 1986, and her Ph.D. in neuroscience in 2004. Dr. Backus is currently Director of MS Research at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. She has presented both nationally and internationally related to her research, and has also published several articles related to this work. One of her greatest pleasures is to help translate meaningful evidence into interventions and programs to help improve the lives of people with MS. In her role as Research Advocate, Dr. Backus will do just that, and will share new research developments and opportunities for people with MS to participate in research. Check the new “Dr. B’s Research Corner” regularly, and feel free to contact her at Deborah_Backus@shepherd.org.
Walk MS helps us make connections more powerful that the connections MS destroys. It is an opportunity for family and friends of the MS community to come together and celebrate our achievements and hope for a future without MS. This year, Walk MS: Georgia 2013 hosted 5,800 participants this year, raising to-date more than $679,600! Thank you to all who joined us this year, as a participant, donor, or volunteer, to take one step closer to a world free of multiple sclerosis. For more information, please contact Laurie Palmer, Walk MS Development Manager, at laurie.palmer@nmss.org.
Get ready, Atlanta, on October 5 for the best mud and obstacle fun-run in the nation! You’ll be running, swinging and sloshing through five miles of incredible obstacles and the muddiest pits, craters and trenches you’ve ever seen. We’re also getting mucky to wipe out MS: 100% of your fundraising dollars go back to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Register today at MuckFestMS.org! 4
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Interview with Don Logana Which Walk MS do you participate in, and how long have you participated? Savannah and second year participating What is your connection to multiple sclerosis and the National MS Society? My sister was diagnosed about two years ago, so after she was diagnosed, I started doing research to learn more about it and found out more about Walk MS and wanted to get involved with the Georgia Chapter of the National MS Society. I work for a local television station and got a team started there to promote the walk.
WALK MS
What is your favorite part of Walk MS? Hearing the stories and seeing the community come together to help and spread the word. It helps bring awareness to the disease and educating people about MS. What is your advice to those who are timid or skeptical about fundraising? Don’t be afraid to fail. Set goals and work to achieve them. Think outside the box to be able to
How much money did you raise this year? More than $15,000 in 22 days
reach it. You can’t be afraid to try some different ideas and think about what you do best. Use that to help you How did you raise those funds? I used social media to promote Walk MS through fundraise. The fundraising Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. When people would make donations, we would take pictures of deadline is after them with a sign and post them online. Donations Walk MS, so started to grow through the publicity and building continue to fundraise and awareness. More than 80 local businesses participated. Continuing to promote through the get people to give! deadline of July 1. Their goal is $30,000.
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RESEARCH
research
Exercise & The brain
After six months, both groups showed improved oxygen consumption. However, those who started out with fatigue showed improvement in their fatigue scores, but it took at least nine months of the program to see a difference. So while you may not feel the effects of exercise at first, persistence can pay off!
by Bruce Bebo, PhD
Emerging evidence across the board suggests that exercise doesn’t just keep us physically fit, it helps our brain function better, too. Scientific presentations on exercise, rehabilitation and quality of life issues at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in March suggest this holds true for people living with multiple sclerosis, as well.
Exercise’s good effects A small study from National Multiple Sclerosis Society-supported scientists at the Kessler Research Institute in New Jersey found that 30 minutes of aerobic exercise done three times a week over three months improved memory and increased the volume of the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved with memory. These preliminary results will hopefully encourage further studies that will yield more definitive conclusions and maybe even recommendations. Another study examined the potential of longerterm aerobic exercise to build endurance in people with MS. This study involved 60 people split into two groups: people who experienced fatigue and people who did not. Both groups performed individualized endurance exercises using treadmills.
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While you may not feel the effects of exercise at first, persistence can pay off! Exercises for the brain Some very interesting data illustrating how the brain reorganizes to adapt to MS damage was presented by a research team from the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy. This team
What’s good for the body may be good for the brain
Resources For more on cognitive issues and MS, visit nationalMSsociety.org/cognition. To learn more about exercise and MS, visit nationalMSsociety.org/exercise, or call 1-800-344-4867 to find out about exercise programs in the area.
looked at the impacts of a 12-week computerassisted course that focused on training to increase memory and attention (the course was previously reported to improve attention and executive thinking abilities). Using functional MRI, which allows a real-time glimpse of the brain at work, they found indicators that brain activity had increased in specific areas. This improvement appeared to persist at least six months after the training was completed. Researchers from Milan and from Kessler also reported that people with MS with more “brain reserve” (larger brain size) and more “cognitive reserve” (increasing the ability to withstand or postpone MS-associated decline in cognition with activities such as doing puzzles or playing music) were at lower risk for cognitive changes associated with brain lesions. Even when brain size is accounted for, those with more cognitive reserve appear to have lower risk for cognitive changes. There’s nothing any of us can do about the size of our brains. But growing evidence suggests that people may be able to build cognitive reserve
by engaging in enrichment activities (Words with Friends anyone?). It’s exciting to think that actions we can take, such as some mental and physical training, can actually alter brain circuits, improve brain activity and possibly help slow the progression of MS.
It’s exciting to think that actions we can take, such as some mental and physical training, can possibly slow the progression of MS. Summaries of the meeting can be viewed on the AAN’s website at www.abstracts2view.com/aan, or visit www.nationalMSsociety.org/research for an overview of MS-related research presented at the meeting. n Bruce Bebo, PhD, is associate vice president of Discovery Research at the National MS Society, and was previously a research immunologist focusing on the influence of sex hormones on MS. He is a passionate Society volunteer, fundraiser and advocate, fueled in part by the fact that his mother has lived with MS for more than 30 years. Read more of Dr. Bebo’s blog posts about research presentations at the annual AAN meeting at blog.nationalMSsociety.org, where this was originally published.
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BIKE MS
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LIVING WITH MS
Gail Isaacson with her canine companion Maggie
Living with ms
thirty-six Years of MS
The title “drama queen” was invented for me. My plan was to spend my life singing and dancing on a stage. I was so stagestruck almost any stage would do. I was working toward this goal when, one summer day in 1976, I had trouble balancing on my toes and I couldn’t make my fingers sign my name. Oh yes, and my head had a spacy feeling, as though air had been pumped into it. Had I morphed into an immense beach ball? The following day I was back to normal. A few weeks later, I was an airhead again, but now I was a beach ball with a limp. Was I crazy? I consulted a shrink to try to make sense of the melee my life had become. But he thought my symptoms were real and sent me to the man to whom I owe my ability to have lived a relatively normal life with MS — my neurologist, Dr. Neil Allen.
“I have officially had MS longer than I have not had MS.”
By Gail Isaacson
I have had multiple sclerosis for 36 years. I was diagnosed in 1976 when I was 26 years old. That means I have officially had MS longer than I have not had MS. Whew. If you asked me who I was before the world came to an end, I’d probably say active, talented, theatrical — the same words I’d use to describe myself now. You see, the world did not come to an end for me. Even though no one could assure me it wouldn’t.
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After a spinal tap (there were no MRIs back then), Dr. Allen diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis, words that, after 35 years as a professional writer, I still cannot spell. In 1976 there were no MS support groups to welcome me to the club, no injectable wonder drugs, no categories like relapsing-remitting or secondary-progressive. Dr. Allen treated me with prednisone*. I loved it because it beat back the madman. I hated it because it made my face look like
Humpty Dumpty. And make no mistake; I have always been exceedingly vain. I came by this trait honestly from my beautiful mother, who had made it her life’s work to see her only child betrothed to a Jewish doctor or lawyer. Now that MS was in the first line of my bio, what was my life like? I had bad days, when I resembled an extra from Monty Python’s “Ministry of Silly Walks.” Other days, I was so dizzy I did a sloppy tango with walls and refrigerator doors. But then I had good days, days so good that it seemed like I didn’t have MS at all.
“I had bad days, when I resembled an extra from Monty Python’s ‘Ministry of Silly Walks.’” The best advice, and what has kept me going for 36 years, was given to me by Dr. Allen. “Get on with your life. Don’t let MS define who you are. MS is unpredictable and affects everyone differently, so you must learn to know your MS and be your own doctor.” This last statement was incredibly ahead of its time, and remains so today. I took his advice and carried on. I hung up my tap shoes for good and focused on another talent, writing. I procured a job at an advertising agency and moved downtown so I could walk, or sometimes limp, to work.
From my vantage point of 60 years, my life has not been very different from anyone else’s. I have continually tried to challenge myself, physically as well as mentally. It hasn’t always been easy, but MS has not ruined my life. I inject a disease-modifying drug three times a week, which has taken away many of the surprises. I still experience fatigue and a handful of other manageable demons, but through a strict dietary regime and endeavoring to write and exercise most days, mine is a fine life. Oh and did I mention my wonderful husband of 17 years? Heart disease is part of his life, just as MS plays a role in mine. We hold hands on life’s roller coaster, take long walks with our baby, a yellow Labrador Retriever, and hold on to the wonder of it all, trying not to fall down. What more can anyone ask for? n
Gail Isaacson can be heard reading her essays on Chicago Public Radio, Iowa Public Radio and Radio Harbor Country in southwest Michigan. Her essays have been featured in the Chicago Tribune and many literary magazines. Visit her website at www.gailisaacson.com. * Editor’s Note: prednisone is often used to treat relapses in MS today. TOLL FREE NUMBER 1 800 344 4867
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NEWLY DIAGNOSED
NEWLY DIAGNOSED
IS It hArDEr tO WOrk WIth MS?
MEMOrY ISSuES MAY IMpAct EMpLOYMENt
Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Many people with multiple sclerosis find it difficult to continue working, even in the early years of the disease. tasks that seemed challenging before MS can become seemingly insurmountable afterward. The fluctuation of daily symptoms and unknown levels of future disability make mapping out a strategic career path a challenge, to say the least. we simply do not know what the future holds around our ability to perform a job.
“I AM AbLE tO WOrk MOrE WhEN I fEEL GOOD, LESS WhEN I fEEL bAD, AND tAkE A quIck NAp If NEEDED.” i am lucky enough to be able to work from home. i am able to work more when i feel good, less when i feel bad, and take a quick nap if needed. There are days when i can work a full day, but there are many days when i do not feel productive at all — when even looking at the computer screen feels like torture.
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i know that as each year has gone on, the problems that i have had in trying to work efficiently seem to get worse. however, recent research indicates that some people who are newly diagnosed or have had an episode of a clinically isolated syndrome may already need to adjust their time at work. Researchers in the Netherlands wanted to look at how MS-related cognitive dysfunction affected work in people who are recently diagnosed with MS. in the cognition and Socio-economics (coGNiSec) study, the researchers studied 45 people who had been diagnosed with MS or had a clinically isolated syndrome within the past two years and have been on disease-modifying therapy for less than six months or not at all.
WhAt thEY fOuND: n
People with higher levels of fatigue and disability all decreased their working hours within 12 months following diagnosis.
n
lower long-term memory scores correlated with a lower number of hours and days spent working during the week.
n
People who scored lower on “focused attention” and “speed of memory” were more likely to say they “wished to work less.”
n
Scores on tests assessing depression (Beck Depression inventory) did not correlate at all with quantity of working hours.
while its findings need to be replicated in larger studies, so far this research shows that cognitive dysfunction can negatively impact the capacity to work, even in the very early stages of MS.
WOrkING A bALANcE what does this mean? let’s face it, even jobs that we love can lose some of their luster when we have to negotiate symptoms that add to our physical disability. while it is tempting to keep pushing ourselves to do more and overcome some of these challenges, it is important to remind ourselves that we may have very real cognitive symptoms related to our MS that are impacting our abilities to work the same way we did in the past.
“... SO fAr thIS rESEArch ShOWS thAt cOGNItIvE DYSfuNctION cAN NEGAtIvELY IMpAct thE cApAcItY tO WOrk, EvEN IN thE vErY EArLY StAGES Of MS.”
on the other hand, many people with MS continue working long after their diagnosis. Disease-modifying therapies, new technologies, better symptom management, legal employment protections and community resources can help you remain in the workforce — and education and preparation can be your most powerful tools for success. n Diagnosed with MS in 2003, Julie Stachowiak, PhD, is the author of The Multiple Sclerosis Manifesto and www.ms.about. com. originally posted at blog.nationalMSsociety.org
tOOLS tO WOrk if you’re struggling to keep up at work, but aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet, visit www.nationalMSsociety.org/ employment or call an MS Navigator at 1-800-344-4867 to learn more about your options and get connected with employment resources in your area. The Job accommodation Network at www.askjan.org also offers information on a range of subjects for working people with disabilities.
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ADVOCACY
Advocacy
Victory in Medicare Settlement By marcella durand
For years, Medicare’s so-called “Improvement Standard” denied coverage of certain treatment services to people with multiple sclerosis and other diseases. However, in October, a settlement to end the standard was reached in a nationwide lawsuit in which the National MS Society was a plaintiff. The Society joined other national organizations including the Parkinson’s Action Network, the Alzheimer’s Association, United Cerebral Palsy and Paralyzed Veterans of America in a class-action suit to challenge the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) over the standard. The standard denied Medicare coverage for services such as skilled nursing facilities, home health and outpatient therapy benefits like physical or occupational therapy to Medicare beneficiaries living with MS if they did not show improvement. However, these often-expensive services can be critical to prevent decline or maximize
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independence. The standard actually violated Medicare’s own official regulations, which state that “the restoration potential of a patient is not the deciding factor” for coverage. The agreement to end the standard will vastly benefit people with MS and their families, helping place essential services back in their reach. Once the settlement is approved by Chief Judge Christina Reiss of the U.S. District Court in Vermont, where the suit was filed, the standard’s use will effectively end. CMS will revise the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual so that coverage standards will instead be based on people’s need for skilled care, regardless whether they show improvement. In addition, CMS will conduct a nationwide educational campaign about the changes, which apply to Medicare and to private Medicare Advantage plans. For more information and to follow the settlement’s progress, visit www.MSActivist.org, or sign up for MS eNEWS at www.nationalMS society.org/signup. n Marcella Durand is the content planning and development manager for the Society.
MS Activists help make change happen.
MEDICAL UPDATE
Update on Medicare Improvement Standards On January 24, 2013, a Federal Judge approved a • CMS must also develop and implement a nationwide education campaign for all who settlement in the Medicare Improvement Standard make Medicare determinations to ensure that case, Jimmo vs. Sebelius, during a standard beneficiaries with chronic conditions are not fairness hearing. The National MS Society was a denied coverage for critical services because plaintiff in this case and sees this development as a their underlying conditions will not improve. critical step forward for thousands of people with MS nationwide. What this means for people living with MS: • The Settlement Agreement standards for Background: Medicare coverage of skilled maintenance • For decades, Medicare beneficiaries – particuservices apply now – while CMS works on larly those with long-term or degenerating policy revisions and its education campaign. conditions and those who need rehabilitation The Society encourages providers and/or services – have been denied necessary care patients to appeal should they be denied based on the “Improvement Standard”. Medicare for skilled maintenance nursing or • This practice has resulted in Medicare coverage therapy because they are “not improving.” for vital care being denied to thousands of individuals on the grounds that their condition • For people needing assistance with appeals, the Center for Medicare Advocacy (another was stable, chronic or not improving, or that plaintiff in the case) has self-help materials the necessary rehabilitative services were for available. This information can help individuals “maintenance only.” understand proper coverage rules and learn • The lawsuit, Jimmo v. Sebelius, was brought how to contest Medicare denials for outpatient, on behalf of a nationwide class of Medicare home health or skilled nursing facility care. beneficiaries by six individual beneficiaries The Society also offers a guide to aid in the and seven national organizations – including dialogue between MS clinicians and health the Society – to challenge the use of the illegal plans when disputes over coverage arise. Improvement Standard. • Although the Jimmo Settlement Agreement Next steps: rejects the Improvement Standard, it does not • With the settlement now officially approved, guarantee coverage. The case was not intended the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to, nor could it, eliminate the need to prove (CMS) is tasked with revising its Medicare that care is medically reasonable and necessary. Benefit Policy Manual and numerous other Providers and beneficiaries still must overcome policies, guidelines and instructions to ensure that hurdle. that Medicare coverage is available for skilled Questions About Appeals? Contact the maintenance services in home health, nursing Medicare Rights Center at 1-800-333-4114 home and outpatient settings. TOLL FREE NUMBER 1 800 344 4867
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WAYS TO GIVE members of the Sister Act Team at Ottawa Park in Toledo, Ohio. Every year, more and more members joined our team. Associates of the Sisters of St. Francis (men and women who partner with the Sisters of St. Francis in their mission and prayer) joined, along with co-workers and relatives.
Ways to give
Still walking after 20 years By Sister Karen Zielinski, OSF
The Sisters of St. Francis don’t walk for the free fruit, pop, pizza, coffee and bagels. Although the goodies are delicious, the “Sister Act” Toledo Walk MS Team walk to do some serious good. In fact, we’ve been walking to help people who live with multiple sclerosis for 20 years now.
What really matters Some Sister Act team members push themselves and walk 10 miles. Some walk a mile, while still others (like me!) walk a few symbolic feet. Distance does not matter. It is the faithfulness to helping our sisters and brothers with MS that matters. The opportunity to raise funds for MS research, programs and education propels us to fill out our Walk MS registration forms, collect pledges and show up on sometimes rainy and cold spring mornings.Twenty years ago, I met with the first
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It wasn’t always easy to do. But the sisters were determined and faithful. Some years there were 30 walkers, some years three. No matter what, the Sister Act team walked each year.
Help where there’s a need Our Walk MS team is a continuation of the sisters’ ministry to help where there is a need. Sister Act team members have raised tens of thousands of dollars to end MS forever, to stop MS in its tracks. Ending MS means no one will receive an MS diagnosis again. Every step matters. Every dollar counts. Every person makes a difference. For the three Sisters of St. Francis who live with MS — Sisters Mary Lou Kurek, Elizabeth Zielinski and myself — the Sister Act team has walked right into our hearts. What a wonderful gift of healing! To learn about how to create your own team, visit www.walkMS.org, or call 1-800-344-4867. n Karen J. Zielinsi, OSF, a Franciscan Sister in Sylvania, Ohio, was diagnosed with MS in 1975. She is the director of Canticle Studio, a creative office of products which focus on spirituality and health, and the author of Hope and Help for Living with Illness (Franciscan Media).
MS Expo: Living Now and Looking Forward Join us for free educational workshops that focus on disease and symptom management, exercise and wellness, advances in MS, carepartner support and more. Vendor exhibits will showcase products and services that enhance the lives of those living with MS. enhance the lives of those living with MS. WHEN: TIME: WHERE:
Saturday, July 20, 2013 Registration Opens 9:00 a.m. Educational Workshops 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Care Partner Workshop 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Vendor Exhibits 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. *Complimentary lunch provided Grand Hyatt Atlanta 3300 Peachtree Road NE • Atlanta, GA 30305 *parking will not be validated for this program
You must pre-register for this program by July 10, 2013. Call 678-672-1000 / 800-344-4867 or visit www.MSgeorgia.org This program is not appropriate for children under the age of 16. This program has been generously supported by EMD Serono, Novartis, Teva and Questcor. TOLL FREE NUMBER 1 800 344 4867
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Self-Help Groups georgia Metro Atlanta Based Self-Help Groups African Americans with MS Self-Help Group Contact Info: JoAnn: (404) 932-2662 Email: joanndicksonsm@bellsouth.net Berean Seventh Day Adventist Church 291 Hamilton E. Holmes Drive Atlanta, GA 30318 When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Saturday of every month from 3:00pm - 5:00 pm Atlanta Women’s Self-Help Group Contact Info: Kristin (404) 351-0205 {ext. 110} MS Center of Atlanta 3200 Downwood Circle in the 4th floor MSCA break room, Atlanta, GA When do we meet? Meets the 4th Tuesday of every month from 6:30pm - 8:00pm (No meetings in November and December) Decatur Self-Help Group Contact Info: O.J. (770)-256-2516 Email: ojf2@yahoo.com Green Forest Community Baptist Church 23250 Rainbow Road Decatur, GA 30334 When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Saturday of every month from 10:00am - 12:00pm Lawrenceville Women’s Self-Help Group Contact Info: Karen (678) 975-7167 Location: McKendree Methodist Church 1570 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Rd Lawrenceville, GA 30043 When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Saturday of every month from 10:30am - 12:00pm This group will not be meeting until September MS Institute at Shepard Self-Help Group: “S.H.E.P.S” Contact Info: Rachael (404) 457-4582 Email: rtakei@mac.com Co-Facilitator: Kate Brunson (404) 402-0368 MS Institute at Shepherd 2020 Peachtree Road Atlanta, GA 30309 When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Saturday of every month from 10:00am - 12:00pm 18
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Perimeter – Atlanta Area: “Dine and Discuss: For Partners and Spouses” (This is a “Care Partner Group” not meant for individuals living with MS) Contact Info: Jan (404) 579-6782 Location: LA Madeleine Restaurant at The Perimeter 1165 Perimeter Center West Atlanta, GA 30346 When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Thursday of every month from 7:00pm - 8:30pm Snellville Self-Help Group Contact Info: Vicki (770) 978-1517 Email: Thepomeroys@Gmail.com Co-Facilitator: Lois: (770) 339-6520 Eastside Medical Center 1700 Medical Way SW Snellville, GA 30078 When do we meet? Meets the 4th Saturday of every month from 10:00am - 12:00pm Outside “Metro” Atlanta Based Self-Help Groups Albany Self-Help Group Contact Info: Janet (229) 435-2517 Email: jkhancock45@yahoo.com Phoebe Putney NW Conference Center 2336 Dawson Road Albany, GA 31701 When do we meet? Meets the 1st Monday of every month from 6:00pm - 8:00pm This group does not meet in September Albany -African American Self-Help Group Contac Info: Colette (229) 395-4150 Chosen to Conquer, Inc. 1120 W. Broad Avenue Suite C-1, Albany, GA 31707 When do we meet? Meets the 1st Saturday of every month from 11:00am - 1:00pm Athens MS Family Contact Info: Siri Baker (706) 353-0606 Email: sbaker@athensneuro.com Co-Facilitator: Danielle (706) 983-9802 Email: depps@athensneuro.com Athens Neurological Associates 1086A Baxter Street Athens, GA 30606
Self-Help Groups georgia When do we meet? Meets the 3rd Thursday of every other month from 6:00pm - 8:00pm in the months of Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept and Nov Augusta MS Self-Help Group Contact Info: Erin (706) 721-1411 Georgia Health Sciences - MS Center 6th Floor 1120 15th Street Augusta, GA When do we meet? Meets the last Monday of every month from 6:00pm - 7:30pm Cartersville “Bartow County Self-Help Group” Contact Info: Towanda (770) 344-8887 Email: tobme3@gmail.com BBQ Street 650 Henderson Dr. Cartersville, GA When do we meet? Meets the 4th Thursday of every month from 6:30pm - 8:30pm Camilla Self-Help Group “Mitchell County MS Self-Help Group” Contact Info: Lucas (229) 224-5979 Mitchell County Hospital-Community Room 90E. Stephens Street Camilla, GA When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 6:00pm – 7:00pm Columbus, Georgia “Chattahoochee Valley Self-Help Group” Contact Info: Lori (706) 575-6925 Email: lorikiker@yahoo.com Columbus Public Library When do we meet: This group’s schedule changes monthly; please call Lori for updated times and days. Cumming Self-Help Group Contact Info: Anthony (Tony) (678) 455-4139 Email: ravengreen@comcast.net Northside Forsyth Hospital 1400 Doctor Bldg. Cumming, GA When do we meet? Meets the 1st Saturday of every month from 10:00am - 12:00pm
Douglasville Self-Help Group Contact Info: Stephanie (770) 577-0408 First Presbyterian Church Parlor Room Douglasville, GA When do we meet? Meets the 3rd Thursday of every month from 7:00pm - 8:30pm Macon - Hope Floats Self-Help Group Contact: Marty (478) 742-9011 Pine Gate 300 Charter Blvd Macon, GA When do we meet? Meets the last Monday of every month from 6:00pm - 8:00pm Newton County Self-Help Group Contact Info: Jean (678) 603-3760 or (724) 822-8507 Newton General Hospital Auditorium Covington, GA When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month from September - May from 7:00pm - 8:30pm Peachtree City/ Fayettville: “Let’s Lunch: MS Group for Working Professionals” Contact Info: Lynn (612)-655-9901 Email: lynn.meloche@gmail.com Piedmont Fayette Hospital 1255 Highway 54 West: Building 1279 3rd Floor Conference Room D Fayetteville, GA 30214 When do we meet? Meets the last Saturday of the month from 11:00am - 1:00pm Thomaston Self-Help Group “T.A.M.S. Self-Help Group” Contact Info: Sherry (706) 472-3273 or (706) 975-9762 American Pie Pizzeria of Thomaston 710 N. Church Street Thomaston, GA When do we meet? Meets the 3rd Thursday of every month from 12:30pm - 2:00pm Thomasville MS Self-Help Group Contact Info: Mike (229) 346-9746 Plaza Restaurant - Thomasville, GA When do we meet? Meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 6:00pm - 8:00pm TOLL FREE NUMBER 1 800 344 4867
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Self-Help Groups georgia Valdosta MS Self Help Group Contact Info: Barbara (229) 247-7792 Smith Northview Hospital 4280 North Valdosta Road Valdosta, GA 31602 Located in the cafeteria of the hospital When do we meet? Meets the 3rd Thursday of every month at 6:30pm
Savannah Based Self-Help Groups
Vidalia Self-Help Group “Looking Good Self-Help Group” Contact Info: Paula (912) 538-0142 Email: nonerves@bellsouth.net Tree House 723 North Street West Highway 292 Vidalia, GA When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Tuesday of every other month from 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Savannah Self-Help Group –“PRYME2” Contact Info: Virginia (912) 355-5832 Email: vmorriso@bellsouth.net One of the rooms in St. Joseph Hospital When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6:00pm Please call Virginia to confirm location and meeting dates.
Waleska Self Help Group Contact Info: Jennifer Email: jjaress1@gmail.com Cherokee Outdoor Family YMCA G. Cecil Pruett Community Center Family YMCA 151 Waleska St. Canton, GA 30114 When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Telephone Based Self-Help Group
Warner Robins “Middle GA Self-Help Group” Contact Info: Michelle (478) 335-4675 Email: msmidga@yahoo.com Houston Medical Center, LL, North Tower 1601 Watson Blvd. Warner Robins, GA When do we meet? Meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 6:30pm - 8:30pm Woodstock MS Self-Help Group Contact Info: Zaida (770)-485-4226 St. Michael the Archangel Church inside the main church building 490 Arnold Mill Rd. Woodstock, GA 30188 When do we meet? Meets the 3rd Saturday of every month from 11:00am-1:00pm (No meetings in July and August) This group starts its meetings with a short opening prayer
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JOIN THE MOVEMENT: nationalMSsociety.org
Pooler Self-Help Group “Pooler’s Positive Movers and Shakers: MS Share & Support Group” Contact Info: Andraya: (912) 658-9629 or PoolersPositiveMS@gmail.com
Statesboro Supports Contact Info: Carolyn: (912) 531-0416 ***This is a telephone support group. Please contact Carolyn for additional information. ***The National MS Society is a secular organization, welcoming those of every faith, and those that espouse none. *** Please contact the Self-Help Group leaders prior to attending a group meeting to assure that the meeting time, date, and location are accurate. Groups occasionally change their meeting schedules to participate in other National MS Society events. Please note, our Self Help Group leaders are volunteers who have been trained by the National MS Society. They are not necessarily licensed mental health providers. Please respect their role as a volunteer and contact them during reasonable hours of 8am8pm. If you are facing an immediate crisis please dial 911. For more information on attending Self-Help Groups or starting Self-Help Groups in your community please call 678-672-1000 OR 1-800-FIGHTMS