2 Questions and We spoke with Manoj and Annie Joseph, the husband and wife co-leaders of the Our Lives With MS Social Group. Manoj, who was diagnosed in February 1998, and Annie started the group in 2015. Manoj, what did the MS diagnosis mean for you? At first I did not know the seriousness of the diagnosis because I didn’t know about MS at all. After searching the internet for answers, I realized my life would never be the same again. What would you say was your biggest obstacle and how did you overcome it? As my symptoms worsened, my morale started to decrease. I tried to get involved with more church and community events. Why did you choose the name Our Lives With MS? We chose this name because we wanted to include everyone who is affected by MS, which includes those who have MS, their family members, caretakers, and friends. This is why Manjoi and I co-lead this group. It’s good that we both have a different way of looking at MS. Why did you start the support group? We have been to many different groups over the years, both in Florida and New York. We have experienced good groups as well as not-so-positive groups. When we realized that there was not an active group in our area, we thought it would be an awesome opportunity to start a positive and empowering group. How many members does the group have? We started with 10 members, and we currently have about 40 members. Does each meeting follow a planned agenda, or is each one different? Each of our meetings is different. We are a more social group, but we also have educational meetings as well. Our meetings vary in topic and activity. We have had guest speakers who discuss MS in general, symptom management, diet, physical therapy, exercise, and SSDI. What is the most fun, or memorable, activity that you’ve done with the group? Our most memorable activity was our first holiday visit to the Royal Palm Beach Health and Rehabilitation Center. We came up with the idea to do something in the community during the holidays. Manoj had spent more than a month in a rehab center in New York after his last major relapse. It was an eye-opening and humbling experience. Most of the residents Our Lives With MS group members