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2023 Walk to Cure Arthritis Honorees

 

Karena Wu
ActiveCare Physical Therapy
Corporate Chair


Owner and Clinical Director of ActiveCare Physical Therapy® in NYC and Mumbai. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of California at Riverside. She has been practicing physical therapy for over 21 years in New York City. Dr. Wu graduated with a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from the Program In Physical Therapy at Columbia University and received her Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Temple University. She has advanced training in manual therapies, specifically in the Maitland Australian Approach and Myofascial Release. She is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists. She is also a Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist, Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Kinesiology Tape Practitioner, Graston Technique Specialist and Pilates Instructor. She holds LSVT BIG, FMS and SFMA Level 1 certifications as well. Dr. Wu also specializes in vertigo and temporomandibular joint disorders.

 

Anne R. Bass, MD
Hospital for Special Surgery
Medical Honoree


Dr. Bass is an Attending Physician in the Division of Rheumatology at Hospital for Special Surgery and a Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. She specializes in the treatment of patients with autoimmune side effects of cancer immunotherapy, and also sees patients with vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and autoimmune eye disease. Dr. Bass co-directs the HSS Checkpoint inhibitor associated arthritis registry and is doing translational research to better understand this condition.

 

Benji
Systemic Juvenile
Idiopathic Arthritis
Youth Honoree


Meet Benji pictured here with his mom, Zina. They are from New York and in 2019 Zina moved to Connecticut for a quieter life! In May of 2020 Benji started to get rashes all over his body and got sick with fevers and joint pain. In October of 2020, after many doctor visits and a 3-day hospital stay, Benji was diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA). After battling with this disease for some time, Zina's son, Benji, passed away from complications of SJIA on April 23, 2021 at the age of 3. In Zina's words, "he was my world and my purpose. I thank God for blessing me with the role of being his mom. As I struggle to live without him, I do everything I can to honor him in every way. I’m here to be a voice and continue the fight to find a cure for arthritis. And my hope is to see a great and massive turnout for the Arthritis Walk!"

Honor Benji by joining or supporting Zina and team, Benji Strong Forever on her personal fundraising page.

 

Rosie
Juvenile Arthritis
Youth Honoree


Meet Rosie, our little rockstar. Rosie was diagnosed with a form of juvenile arthritis when she was just 15 months old. Since then, she has had numerous doctor’s appointments, MRIs, X-rays, flare-ups, shots, bloodwork, missed school, missed playdates, and even with all of that is always usually not without a smile.

Today she is a super active, cartwheeling 7.5-year-old 2nd grader. Getting her to this point was an incredible team at Hospital for Special Surgery (thank you Dr. Taber!), medication, OT/PT, and the support of family and friends.

Let’s keep all the kids like Rosie cartwheeling and rocking to find a cure for arthritis!