Gabryelle “Gabby” Scholfield, a 16-year-old student-athlete at Edmondson Westside High School in Baltimore, who plays center on her basketball team, is known for getting rebounds on the basketball court. However, only about a year ago, she was rebounding from serious complications of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system in which a person’s body attacks itself by mistake. The severity of the condition, which is believed to be an autoimmune disorder, can range from mild to serious enough that some lose their ability to see clearly, write, speak or walk.

For Gabby, who is used to being active and playing multiple sports, everything changed in April 2024. She woke up one morning, and her left side was numb. She tried to balance, and fell into the wall. Her mother, Sharaye Scholfield, rushed her to a local urgent care, where the team recommended Gabby go to a nearby hospital. At the hospital, Gabby underwent testing, including an MRI scan. The imaging showed frightening findings for Gabby and her family: lesions, or areas of inflammation, in her brain.

Gabby was referred to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for further care. While there, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She immediately started treatment with medicine and physical therapy, and left the hospital after four days.

A few weeks later, with her MS under control, Gabby was back on the basketball court, and she was able to celebrate her 16th birthday in May by ziplining with family and friends.

Gabby now takes medication each day to prevent MS symptoms from flaring up, and has regular checkups with her neurologist, Haiwen Chen, M.D., Ph.D.

Since there’s only one current U.S. Food & Drug Administration-approved medication for MS in children, Gabby and her family enrolled Gabby in a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins to help find an additional therapy for MS in children.

“While it may not be obvious now, Gabby has very active MS, and if left untreated, she could have difficulty walking by the time she’s 35 years old,” says Chen, who is also the site investigator of the study at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. “Her participation in this study will help us find the best treatments for MS in children, so they can have the best quality of life well into the future.”

Gabby’s family says she’s made a full recovery since her MS attack in April. Along with playing basketball and softball, Gabby has a 4.4 GPA in school and is on the principal’s honor roll.

She offers advice for others with MS. “You have to keep pushing, and don’t give up,” she says.

Gabby, her mom, Sharaye Scholfield, and her dad, William Scholfield, as well as pediatric neurologist Haiwen Chen are available for media interviews.  

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Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Division of Pediatric Neurology