About Us

The Laurel Highlands Multiple Sclerosis Support Group (LHMSSG) is a nonprofit support and social group for those afflicted with MS, their families and friends. Founded in 1988 by Dr. Lysle Stein DC, a Chiropractor with MS, the LHMSSG provides its members with a vast array of services. The primary feature of our group is peer support and counseling dealing with quality of life issues and other concerns of the handicapped.

Our monthly discussions cover a wide range of topics including insurance, sexual issues, Social Security, changes in the law, job placement, discrimination, family and personal issues, medical treatments, Medicare, pharmaceuticals and the like. Anyone suffering from a disabling illness, their family members and friends are welcomed and encouraged to attend our monthly meetings the 2nd Thursday of each month on the 2nd floor of the Ligonier Town Hall in Ligonier, PA at 7:00 PM. The building is handicapped accessible.

The Laurel Highlands Multiple Sclerosis Support Group is run by its members and we do not charge any membership fees or dues. All services provided by the LHMSSG are free of charge. Family members and friends of the disabled are also welcomed and encouraged to attend.

How It All Started

Shortly after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1987, I underwent a holistic German treatment unavailable in the United States. Doc (Dr. Lysle Stein) saw an article published in the Tribune Review newspaper about the treatment and invited me out to lunch to discuss the procedure. This was the birth of our 19 year friendship. Once a month we would attend a MS Social Group dinner meeting in Hahntown, PA. While an enjoyable experience, we felt we needed more.

Doc envisioned a support group that while providing fellowship could also provide a forum for discussion about our disease and all of the complications that come with it. He wanted a group that would feel comfortable discussing anything that was on our minds without embarrassment or fear of reproach. He visualized a group that would support each other, welcome new members and give them an honest picture of what life with MS was like and how to overcome the pitfalls; a place where the spouses and family members of patients could meet and discuss their own unique lives with MS. In 1988, Doc met with a small group of people with MS, most of whom are still with us today, and the Laurel Highlands Multiple Sclerosis Support Group was born. It has been meeting monthly ever since.

About Doc

Dr. Lysle R. Stein of Ligonier, PA, was born October 21, 1936, in New Alexandria,PA, the youngest of 11 children. Sadly, he passed away in August of 2006. He was a graduate of Saltsburg High School and began his pre-med education at Pembroke University of North Carolina and Logan College of Chiropractic; St. Louis, Mo. After being awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from Clayton University of St. Louis, Mo., he practiced chiropractic for over 20 years in Latrobe, PA. It was during the later years of his practice that Doc was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Doc was more than the Laurel Highlands Multiple Sclerosis Support Group founder; he was its life and most importantly, its heart and its inspiration. Although he encouraged all of us to unburden our concerns and woes over our disease, he never let it turn into a pity party. Doc once told one of us who was complaining a little too much that "he would give them a piece of his own mind, but he didn't have a leg to stand on." This was three weeks after he had his second leg amputated. He told me it wasn't all bad as he had found someone interested in buying his shoes. Doc's humor and subtle sarcasm gently chided and guided more than one of us over the years. Few could allow too much self pity to take charge knowing that Doc had been through so much more. Doc's motto for the Laurel Highlands Multiple Sclerosis Support Group was "We may bend but we will never break!"

The wind beneath Doc's wings was his wife Dorothy. Faithfully serving as our treasurer, she attended every meeting and event along side her husband. She sets a superb example as a loving wife and care giver. In all the years I have known the Steins; I have never once heard an unkind word between them or seen anything but their love for one another in their eyes. Living with someone with MS can be aggravating and challenging. Dorothy is a true source of encouragement, patience and inspiration to our well spouses and care givers.

The Team

No successful group can run without its members. The LHMSSG is fortunate to have a strong core membership and executive board who show up at every function and meeting. Especially important is our secretary Rita Shapiola and her husband Mike. If Doc is our group's heart, then Rita is its soul. Like Doc, Rita has been hit hard by the MS but also rises above her limitations beyond anyone's expectations. Although limited visually and deals with mobility issues, Rita gets more accomplished and does more than most healthy people I know. A "Take Charge" kind of gal, Rita handles all of the group's correspondence, dinner scheduling, updates on what is happening in the world of MS, fund raisers, garage sales and just about everything else we do. In addition, Rita hosts "The Turtles" a group of MS patients who walk every year in the local MS Walk for the National MS Society. Rita will be the recipient of the Clara Baton Award from the American Red Cross in October, 2006 for her volunteer work with that organization. We are all very proud of Rita.

Her husband Mike is another fine example of a loving and supportive care giver and provider. He purchased a van as his means of transportation solely so he could transport more of our members to functions and meetings who are unable to drive themselves. It is not uncommon for Mike to put a hundred miles on his van the night of a meeting picking people up and dropping them off. Anyone who meets him would never guess from his sweet, soft spoken and gentle demeanor that he is a former cowboy and retired corrections officer. A good and valued friend, Mike is always there when we need him.

Sybil Brucker, our vice president, is Rita's right arm. She's the one who stays by her side the entire weekend of the garage sale and does the full day at our booth during festivals and events. Between Doc, Dorothy, Rita, Mike and Sybil it doesn't leave me much to do except chair the meetings. "It's good to be the President". I would be amiss without giving credit to our members who support the board and contribute so much to the group. They are the life blood of the LHMSSG. Their input and contributions makes our group work.

That's about all there is to know about the Laurel Highlands Multiple Sclerosis Support Group. If you are ever in the Southwestern Pennsylvania area on the second Thursday of the month, be sure to drop in and say "Hi". Feel free to visit our web site at www.lhmssg.com. I would love to hear from you and especially other support group leaders.

The above was written by Michael Murphy who went home to be with his Lord February 8, 2007. The rest of the group is carrying on.