{"id":236049,"date":"2026-04-22T15:28:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/what-disease-does-fernando-mendozas-mom-have-inside-her-battle-with-multiple-sclerosis\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:28:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:28:07","slug":"what-disease-does-fernando-mendozas-mom-have-inside-her-battle-with-multiple-sclerosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/what-disease-does-fernando-mendozas-mom-have-inside-her-battle-with-multiple-sclerosis\/","title":{"rendered":"What Disease Does Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Mom Have? Inside Her Battle With Multiple Sclerosis"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Quarterback Fernando Mendoza<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has made headlines for his work on and off the field.<\/p>\n

Fernando rose to fame after leading the Indiana University Hoosiers football team to a landmark season in 2025 \u2014 earning the school their first Big Ten Championship since 1967 and first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship in January 2026 \u2014 but he\u2019s also made it his mission to give back.<\/p>\n

Fernando and his younger brother Alberto (who also plays football at IU) teamed up to raise money for the National MS Society in support of their mom, Elsa Mendoza. They partnered with two restaurants in Bloomington, Indiana \u2014 BuffaLouie\u2019s and Gable\u2019s Bagels \u2014 to launch separate menu items with proceeds going directly to the National MS Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom means the world to me \u2014 she\u2019s the most caring and positive person I know \u2014 and I\u2019ll keep doing everything I can to support her and others living with MS,\u201d Fernando wrote via the fundraiser\u2019s website<\/a>. The brothers\u2019 fundraiser has raised nearly $375,000 in donations.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Indiana University Quarterback Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Family Guide<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tThe 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza has taken the Indiana University football team to new heights \u2014 but the athlete couldn\u2019t have done it without his supportive family by his side. \u201cMy lifelong teammate, Alberto, my brother, my closest confidant. The one I trust more than anybody to get through a tough day, tough [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When it came time for Fernando to enter the NFL Draft in April 2026, he opted to do so from his home in Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cPittsburgh is a great opportunity and it\u2019s a great venue, and I\u2019m really excited to see most of the guys walk across the stage on Thursday night,\u201d the athlete said on the Rich Eisen Show.<\/em><\/a> \u201cIt\u2019d be a dream for a lot of guys, however, my mom really wanted to do it at home, and so did my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIt was a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation, and I would have to hop on a plane the next morning anyways. For that travel, it would be a lot easier to stay at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep scrolling for everything to know about Elsa Mendoza\u2019s MS battle:<\/p>\n

Who Is Elsa Mendoza?<\/h2>\n

Fernando\u2019s mom, Elsa, is also the mother to Alberto and Max Mendoza<\/strong>. She previously played tennis at the University of Miami.<\/p>\n

When Was Elsa Mendoza Diagnosed With MS?<\/h2>\n

According to a December 2025 letter she wrote for the Players Tribune<\/em><\/a>, Elsa revealed that she was diagnosed \u201cabout 18 years ago.\u201d However, she and husband Fernando Mendoza Sr.<\/strong>, decided not to share the news with their sons until years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and Alberto were so young, and I was doing fine,\u201d Elsa wrote to Fernando. \u201cAnd mostly, I didn\u2019t want you to worry. It just felt like this impossible thing to place on you guys. On my sweet boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Did Fernando Mendoza Find Out About His Mom\u2019s MS?<\/h2>\n

Elsa wrote that \u201cabout 10 years ago\u201d she broke her ankle and knee in a skiing accident, but she still didn\u2019t share the news about her MS. That came later.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven after that, I wasn\u2019t quite ready to tell you \u2014 only that my leg hadn\u2019t healed all the way, which is why your mom had her limp,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until five years ago, when I got Covid, that things started to go downhill in a way where there was no more hiding it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew we had to sit you and your brother down. No amount of years could have prepared me for how hard of a conversation it ended up being.\u201d<\/p>\n

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