Washington man starts MS support group
Courtesy of Charles Levers
A Washington man is leading efforts to assist those who are battling multiple sclerosis.
Charles L. Levers has organized a self-help support group through the National MS Society that meets each Thursday at 2 p.m. in Room 206 of the Landmark Building, 75 East Maiden St.
“When you come, you’ll get an MS navigator appointed to you,” Levers said. “They’ll pretty much take care of your daily needs. They help you align your doctor’s visits. They get involved in your life to the point that you’re happy that they’re there.”
Anyone interested in attending a meeting is welcome to just show up at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Levers, 58, has been fighting multiple sclerosis – an autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system by damaging the protective covering of nerves – for 24 years.
The Washington High School graduate is an MS ambassador working to support people with the disorder. He had a severe attack of the disease in 2025 – one he called the worst of his life – that put him in intensive care and left him unable to speak for a time.
“I’ve overcome all of that,” he said. “I want to be able to tell people how I’ve done it. I’ve been fighting MS for 24 years and it’s hard for you to tell that I have it.”
Levers has not let the disorder slow him down, hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2019 and kayaking on the Mississippi River in 2021.
Emergency cards also are offered at meetings that indicate the bearer has multiple sclerosis, as well as other pertinent information such as emergency contacts.
“I know what it was like to be there and have no one believe you,” Levers said. “It’s an invisible illness, so there’s a lot of things you can’t tell. If emergency responders knew you had MS, there’s a lot of things they would do differently. I found that that card really helped me.”
Levers also hopes to start a charity MS Walk in Washington, as well as a local MS chapter.
“What I found to be the most successful is when you have people that have MS actively involved in the group,” he said.