CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A group of dedicated men and women are finally meeting back in person again to show support for those living with multiple sclerosis.

After a year of virtual meetings weekly, Saturday morning was the first time the Lake Norman MS Support Group could finally see and hug each other in over a year.

“I don’t care if there are two people here or if there’s 50; it doesn’t matter because we’re together, and that’s just what’s it’s really about. That’s what it’s about today,” said Jennifer Frame, the support group leader.

It’s been more than a year since Jennifer Frame and the rest of the support group have seen each other.

She was diagnosed with MS at 19 years old while she was in nursing school.

“It’s a time I’ll never forget, I can still see the orange cabinets in the room, but I remember the physician telling me you have MS, and I don’t remember to this day the rest of the conversation. My world stopped,” Frame said.

When she was diagnosed, there were no treatments.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says that MS is a disease that causes damage to the brain and spinal cord, interrupting the flow of information between the brain and body.

So, Frame didn’t know what her future would look like.

“I had a neurologist that patted me on the shoulder and said ‘I hope you don’t end up in a nursing home someday,’” Frame said.

She was faced with many challenges and hard decisions to make as a young nurse, including telling her now-husband that he didn’t have to stick around if it became too much.

“I told him to leave so that he didn’t need to deal with this for the rest of my life, and he’s still here 30 years later,” Frame added.

Her passion for fundraising and keeping a positive attitude through all the struggles come from all the progress she’s seen since diagnosis.

“In my lifetime, I have truly seen the power of research, and this year in the mission statement for the MS Society was the first time the cure was in the mission statement, and that is powerful, just even to think that in 20 years we may figure this out,” Frame explained.

As of Saturday morning, the group surpassed its goal of raising $5,000.

Frame says she’s excited for the future of research and to continue putting on in-person fundraising events to support each other, and of course, themselves.

Frame said the MS Society lost about $60 million in fundraising during the pandemic. Her local group could not fundraise much either by not being able to do events.

If you want to be involved in the MS support group, you can head to their Facebook page.