Multiple Sclerosis

Garry D. Teeter is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a National Board Certified Counselor, a Board Certified Professional Christian Counselor, a Certified Brain Injury Specialist and a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer. He started his outpatient practice, Daily Bread Counseling, in 1997.Garry gives many hours in service and support of the National MS Society by being a featured speaker for the Relationship Matters Series as well as speaking around the state of Arkansas and providing counseling to individuals and families surviving MS.

In November 1954, Garry’s father Charles Teeter was diagnosed with MS and at the same time Charles and his wife Dorothy were told that she would give birth to twins in February 1955. Garry is one of the twins. Charles passed away in 1993 at the age of 65, he beat the odds. He lived a full and meaningful life. Garry had never seen his father walk without a cane or crutch or wheelchair. Garry can remember in Junior High school coming home and with the help of his twin performing physical therapy on his father’s muscles to keep them toned so that when a cure for MS was found he would be ready to recover. That never happened.

Every day Charles was gotten out of bed and dressed in his regular clothes. Garry and his twin, Larry played tennis in high school and college and due to the effects of heat on MS patients; Charles never saw his sons play tennis. His parents did not divorce. They learned how to work together through the MS. It was a way of life for us and their 7 grandchildren. Due to difficulty in swallowing he was fed through a tube for the last 10 years of his life; 4 meals a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 10 years.

Garry understands stress growing up with a father with MS. Garry gives many hours in service and support of the National MS Society lecturing and counseling individuals and families about the effects of stress and MS.

Garry is married 32 years to Donna Payne of Bryant, Arkansas, they have two daughters, Brooke Teeter, LMSW, Program Director of the All American Chapter of the National MS Society – Arkansas Division; and Courtney Heyl, ATC, Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.