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Hollywood Team Makes "Great Strides" for Sarita

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By Rick Adelman

In the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma two years ago, Rabbi Gur Berman’s grandmother, stuck in her Hollywood condominium without electricity, heard about a couple that was distributing kosher food to condo residents.

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"When my grandmother asked her friend to describe them," Berman said, "she knew right away it was Sammy and Julia."

Sammy and Julia. Julia and Sammy.

"Beautiful people," said Berman.

That explains why around 150 adults and children showed up at the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk on May 20 to be part of "Sarita’s Team" at the annual Great Strides walk to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Sarita, 5, the youngest of Sam and Julia Grundwerg’s three children, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease, when she was 11 months old. Family and friends, including a large group from the Grundwergs’ synagogue, Young Israel of Hollywood, embraced the opportunity to raise money for ongoing research to find a cure for CF.

"I told my kids we need to raise a lot of money so Sarita won’t be sick anymore," said Hannah Shekhter, the mother of five children, including triplets who attend pre-school with Sarita. "They know that every year we walk for her medicine."

Berman drove down with his kids from Boca Raton where he is a middle school teacher at Hillel Day School of Boca Raton. Berman, whose parents live in Hollywood, was in the same class with Sam and Julia at Hebrew Academy of Miami Beach.

"They’re extremely giving and kind," he said. "People in the community gravitate toward them and naturally if there’s an event like this where we can support them, we show up."

Great Strides walks take place at nearly 600 sites across the country and last year raised $31 million. This was the first one ever in Hollywood and Grundwerg, an attorney with a Fort Lauderdale law firm, figures "Sarita’s Team" raised at least $5,000.

"Look at Sam," Berman said as his friend hustled around, making sure everyone had a T-shirt. "He’s always smiling. And Julia is an amazing mother."

Indeed, Sam Grundwerg credited his wife —"the most dedicated person I know" —with providing the loving and vigilant care that enables Sarita to be a happy, well-adjusted little girl.

Cystic fibrosis, one of the most common inherited diseases, is most prevalent among Caucasians and Ashkenazi Jews and affects 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. About 1,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

A defective gene and its protein product causes the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. The thick mucus also obstructs the pancreas and prevents natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. Some cases are more severe than others.

Sarita receives daily treatments from a respiratory therapist who pounds on her chest ("It’s not painful," said Sam) for around a half-hour to loosen any mucus buildup. Then Sarita undergoes around 90 minutes of nebulizer breathing treatments to keep her lungs healthy. She also takes medicine to aid digestion.

The most difficult time, Sam said, were the first 11 months of Sarita’s life. She underwent an operation when she was a day old and had two more procedures before doctors diagnosed CF.

"We spent a lot of time in intensive care," he said. "It wasn’t fun."

Although presently there is no cure for the disease, many people live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

"While it’s still a daunting statistic, the progress is encouraging," Sam said.

In the meantime, the Grundwergs will continue to raise awareness and money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, knowing they can count on a caring Jewish community for support.

"I don’t know how they feel in their private moments," said Gur Berman. "I’m sure they have moments of frustration, anger and sadness. But I’ve never really seen it. Sammy and Julia are really amazing."

For information about cystic fibrosis, visit http://www.cff.org. Sam Grundwerg can be reached at (954) 768-8289 or grundwergs@gtlaw.com
More photos from the walk appear on page 15.

Posted by Rick Adelman on 05/25 at 02:00 AM • Hits: 231



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