FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Elsa Mendoza is the mother of Heisman Trophy winner and newly crowned CFP National Champion Fernando Mendoza, the Miami-native quarterback of Indiana University.
She was smiling in her wheelchair at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night as her son became a national champion, while also shining a light on a disease that affects over a million Americans.
Dr. Luis Compres Brugal, the director of the neuroimmunology and multiple sclerosis program at Baptist Health, explained how MS attacks something called myelin, which protects brain cells.
He said the symptoms are as diverse as the patients and families it impacts.
“It is a chronic condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the brain or the spinal cord,” said Brugal. “Assuming there’s some type of inflammation in the optic nerve, that person can have vision loss or blurry vision. If it’s in the spinal cord or in any other areas of the brain, they can have weakness or numbness.”
The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation is nationally headquartered in Fort Lauderdale.
Executive Director Kasey Minnis spoke about what it meant to have the condition highlighted on such a national platform.
“It’s so important,” said Minnis. “So often, people with MS feel forgotten. Part of the issue is that MS is a disease that strikes in the prime of life.”
Minnis said the foundation helps MS patients gain access to healthcare providers to receive the many available treatments to help manage MS and receive vital resources and mobility aids like canes and wheelchairs.
“There really is not enough assistance for people out there,” she said.
Minnis said the national spotlight on MS through the Mendozas shows how important family support is for people living with MS, with often unpredictable symptoms and misconceptions.
“I think the important thing to understand is that there’s no one look of multiple sclerosis,” she said. “Some people will use a wheelchair. Some people will look just fine and you won’t realize the challenges that they’re facing.”
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