BY DONNA SWICEGOOD

Just a week after the onset of ankle pain, 17-year-old Adriana Molina lost the ability to use her legs and arms.

The nightmare began about three weeks ago.

Adriana, a North Iredell High School junior, began having issues with her ankle. Her mother, Melissa Molina, wasn’t overly concerned initially, thinking the pain would subside with a little rest.

“I thought it was simple aches and pains. She’s in the marching band. I didn’t think too much about it,” she said.

Soon, she said, the pain traveled up Adriana’s leg. After the teen visited a chiropractor, “it started to feel a little bit better,” Melissa said.

However, a few days later, on a Friday, Adriana began having trouble walking. Her arm was “pulled in,” prompting a visit to Adriana’s primary care physician, her mom said.

“He told us to take her to the ER,” Melissa said.

An MRI showed lesions on her brain and spinal cord. Adriana was taken by ambulance to Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease of the central nervous system.

Adriana remains hospitalized and is undergoing a treatment that will continue for another three weeks. “She has 10 more to go,” Melissa said earlier this week.

“She’s trying to get the use of her arms back and to start walking again,” her mom said. “It’s been hard on her mentally, but she’s trooping along.”

Melissa said she and her daughter have experienced a whirlwind of emotions in the past three weeks as the teen went from marching in the band to being nearly paralyzed.

“It was all of a sudden,” she said. “It’s been very very trying. Lots of tears.”

Melissa is spending most of her time at Brenner Children’s Hospital with her daughter. Melissa’s sister, Crystal Cooper, and a long-time friend and co-worker at Freightliner in Cleveland, Jennifer Negron, are hoping to take the financial worries off her shoulders. 

Melissa, who is a single mom, has health insurance for Adriana through Freightliner, but it won’t cover everything. With the likelihood that she’ll have to take Family Medical Leave to continue caring for her daughter, finances will be tough.

Negron, who has been friends with Melissa for nearly as long as Adriana has been alive, said she wants to take at least part of the burden off Melissa’s plate. “Melissa works a lot of overtime to help support her family and she won’t be able to do that now,’ she said.

Cooper has organized a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money to help her sister cover expenses.

Negron, who describes herself as an “auntie” to Adriana, is helping get the word out. She said it’s been a difficult few weeks for Adriana, Melissa and those who love the mom and daughter.

“It hurts,” she said. “Going from being a healthy teenager to diagnosed with MS, it’s tough.”

Negron said the goal of the fundraising effort is $20,000, and no donation is too small. “I know money is tight for a lot of people now, but every little bit helps,” she said.

Meanwhile, Melissa said she’s been overwhelmed with the support that she and Adriana have received since their ordeal began.

“I don’t have the words to describe it,” she said.

While the financial support is appreciated, Adriana is also getting help on a different level from a multitude of friends, family members and strangers in the form of prayers, her mom said. Those prayers are felt by the family and, Melissa said, they are needed. 

“Please, please pray,” she said

WANT TO HELP

Donate to the gofundme campaign HERE.