She’s fighting multiple sclerosis and needs a mobility scooter to keep up with her child

This article first appeared in the Miami Herald in collaboration with the Lee Caplin School of Journalism and Media.

When Stella Georgakopoulos woke up one day three years ago, she knew something was very wrong.

The Fort Lauderdale woman, now 46, had lost half the vision in her left eye and immediately contacted doctors to look for answers. After she got the results of her MRI, she was admitted for steroid treatment.

Georgakopoulos regained her eyesight, but that didn’t mean things were okay.

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Doctors told her it had been dormant, and she was experiencing a flare-up after losing her dad to cancer just two months before her diagnosis.

MS is a chronic, neurological disease that affects the body’s central nervous system. The immune system mistakenly attacks the nerves in the body, which can cause debilitating symptoms like numbness, weakness, trouble walking and vision changes. There is currently no cure.

Georgakopoulos was born and raised in Detroit. She moved to Florida 28 years ago and lives with her husband, George, and their 9-year-old daughter, Marianna.

She enjoyed an active lifestyle before her diagnosis. She worked two jobs at a time as a teenager and as a young adult, then attended beauty school. Later she did health and safety work with a company that sold granite.

“This disease strips you of your freedom,” she said. “The life I once had doesn’t exist. It was taken from me.”

She sometimes uses a cane or a walker, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation said in nominating her for Wish Book. Doing chores or chasing after a 9-year-old can tire her out to the point that she needs a mobility scooter.

When she’s at her lowest, she turns to George for support. And she tries to protect Marianna from her struggle with MS.

Being strong for her daughter

“You can’t let a child see you weak and crying and upset because they need you to be strong,” Georgakopoulos said. “But then when you’re alone, that’s when you break down.”

Although her journey hasn’t been easy, she said Marianna gives her the strength to keep going.

“[My daughter] needs me… Because of her, I am here,” Stella said.

Stella Georgakopoulos with her husband, George, and their daughter, Marianna. (Kelly Sanchez/FIU)

This holiday season, Georgakopoulos wishes for a Vive 4-Wheel Mobility Scooter. She says it will help her keep up with Marianna in places where it might be a challenge, such as a mall or a park.

“If something comes up… I can bring my scooter,” she said. “I won’t have to say no to my child.”

Georgakopoulos reached out in January to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation — which provides programs and support services to MS patients — to apply for a grant to buy a mobility scooter. She spoke with the foundation’s support groups and outreach manager, Marcia Harris, who said the organization doesn’t have a grant large enough to cover the full cost and suggested Georgakopoulos apply for grants from other groups.

Months later, she was one of hundreds of employees laid off after the company she worked for, which sold and imported granite from overseas, was sold. Not only did she lose her steady source of income but she also was left without the health insurance coverage that provided the medication she needs to treat MS.

Harris, who didn’t know Georgakopoulos had been laid off, nominated her for the Miami Herald’s Wish Book program. Each year, members of the community in need are highlighted by the Herald and readers can make donations.

“She was just so surprised that she would be given anything because she was in a state of despair when I called her because she had lost her job the day before,” Harris said.

Working her muscles

Georgakopoulos swims at her mother’s house as much as she can to keep her muscles working. But it is a long drive. Being able to use an exercise machine at home would make her life easier on an everyday basis, she says.

Georgakopoulos’s second wish is a Therun magnetic elliptical exercise machine for home. She tried the elliptical at a friend’s house and found that she can use it to exercise her muscles without getting too tired.

Her third wish, which she needs if she receives the mobility scooter, is a wheelchair ramp.

As a Greek-Orthodox Christian, Stella says her faith keeps her “strong and alive.” (Kelly Sanchez/FIU)

After losing her job, she was able to get a new healthcare plan through the Affordable Care Act to help cover the cost of her medication. But she now faces a new challenge: finding a job that accommodates her disability.

George, 50, picked up a second job when Stella got laid off. He works as an Uber driver during the day and has a night shift as a restaurant server to make ends meet.

All the changes in Georgakopoulos’s life are still a big adjustment. She’s learning to listen to her body. She took Marianna to “Trunk-or-Treat” — a Halloween celebration where kids go from car to car in a parking lot for candy.

When she became tired, a friend found her a foldable chair. She didn’t mind that everyone else was standing while she sat.

“It is okay for me to sit down while everyone else is standing up,” she said. “You have to take care of yourself and not worry about what other people think or see of you.”

Kelly Sanchez is a senior majoring in Digital Journalism with a minor in Art. She has an interest in local news. When Kelly isn’t reporting, she enjoys creative writing and photography.