Jennifer Hepp
The Wildcat Roar
Novi HS
1st Place
Division 1, News Writing
Personality Profile
4:17 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7 is a moment senior Mina Cunmulaj will remember for the rest of her life – it’s the moment she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
After experiencing numbness and weird sensations in the left side of her body the day before, Cunmulaj was in the emergency room awaiting the results of a two and a half hour MRI of her brain, neck and spine.
Cunmulaj was then told by a doctor that the MRI showed lesions on her brain that were suggestive of MS.
“That moment haunts me, and it will haunt me forever,” Cunmulaj said.
After hearing the news, Mina said she initially went into shock, as did her parents.
“I called my dad right away … and I heard him collapse over the phone,” she said.
Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system, specifically, the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord.
“My dad just sat next to my bed and sobbed,” Cunmulaj said. “I had never seen my dad cry.”
Mina was kept in the hospital for three more days and put on medical steroids. She also underwent a Lumbar puncture, a spinal tap in which half of the results came back positive for MS. The other half of the results would not be available until a week later.
“There was a part of me that was hoping it wasn’t real, that it was a mishap,” she said.
A week later, however, the rest of the results were confirmed positive.
“After that, I kind of had to rebuild my life. From zero,” Cunmulaj said. “I just really thought, ‘I can sit and dwell on this for the rest of my life and be negative about it, or I can turn this into a positive and do something with it and impact people.’”
Friend and lacrosse teammate senior Alanna Clark said Cunmulaj was very optimistic throughout the whole thing.
“As soon as Mina got out of the hospital, she was very insistent on getting better and making a difference with MS and raising awareness about it,” Clark said.
Cunmulaj, an avid lacrosse player, had nearly committed to play college lacrosse when she was diagnosed.
After meeting with a second neurologist, it was determined that Mina would not be able to play in college. The neurologist said the numbness and chronic fatigue associated with MS would be too much combined with the stress and physical demands that come with being a college athlete.
“It was tough,” Cunmulaj said. “I cried and I cried … because my dad was a college athlete, and I had to accept that I wouldn’t be able to follow through with my dream.”
Soon after finding out she could not be a college athlete, Cunmulaj realized she wanted to do something for other athletes with MS. She contacted several members of the National MS Society and soon became a national MS ambassador, she said.
Cunmulaj is scheduled to speak at several MS charity events, such as Walk for MS and Muckfest.
“I was humbled because I’ve always wanted to help other people,” Cunmulaj said. “In my time of despair, [there was] no better way to pick myself up than to help other people. There was nothing else I could think of.”
Clark said she thinks it’s awesome Cunmulaj is getting involved with the MS society.
“It’s such a great opportunity,” Clark said. “She’s going to speak with them and work with them and she’s going to be amazing at it.”
Cunmulaj still plans to play high school lacrosse and is a co-captain for this year’s team.
“There’s no way I’m giving that up this year,” she said.
Mina loses feeling in her legs after she runs for long periods of time because heat brings back the disease’s symptoms.
“When I’m done running, I literally cannot feel from my waist down and it feels like I’m on air,” Cunmulaj said. “It’s weird, and terrifying.”
After she’s done running, ice baths help cool her down and restore the feeling in her legs. The numbness Cunmulaj experiences will not hurt her lesions in the long run, though, and she is keeping her competitive mindset for the upcoming lacrosse season.
“Chase [the trainer] and I have set up this situation, so if I’m getting hot and I fall during a game, they’ll pull me over to the sideline and stick my legs in ice buckets,” Cunmulaj said. “Then I’ll get back in, full gear, ready to go.”
Cunmulaj is currently working with athletic director Brian Gordon to pick a lacrosse game in the spring to raise awareness and fundraise for MS.
“We’re going to buy jerseys, we’re going to put names on the back of those jerseys … and do this for the cause,” Gordon said.
Gordon said Cunmulaj is like the role model for athletics.
“She is an amazing young woman,” Gordon said. “This is my 25th year in high school athletics … and I don’t know if I’ve ever met somebody who … has the passion for something that she really wants to do, and will not let anything stand in her way, as much as this young lady does. It’s just unbelievable.”
Mina has kept up with horseback riding, a passion she has had all her life. She has also developed a newfound exercise passion.
“Yoga really does help because it gets you in touch with yourself and that’s a huge thing with this disease,” Cunmulaj said. “Slowing down life and taking a second to just think about yourself and how your body’s feeling.”
Mina has also changed her entire diet and elected to stay off medication until the summer.
“I have to give a lot of credit to my mom [for] everything,” Cunmulaj said, “for consistently staying on top of my health, and supporting my new lifestyle.”
Clark said Cunmulaj has inspired her with how she’s trying to make a difference.
“She has turned something so negative around and made it so positive,” Clark said. “She’s great.”
Cunmulaj said her entire experience has changed her as a person for the better.
“It’s completely opened my eyes to life and how short it can be,” Cunmulaj said. “I never thought I’d be in this position. And now I want to do everything I can to help someone else get back up on their feet again.”