“’s Entourage� to take part in Arthritis Walk

[Guest guest]

“’s Entourage†to take part in Arthritis Walk

Event set for May 16 in Forest Park

http://westcountyjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2008/05/09/news/doc4824b05c553c19\

59296539.txt

Though she has juvenile arthritis, Goldstein, 8, of Chesterfield, will

be leading her " ’s Entourage " team during the St. Louis Arthritis Walk

on Friday, May 16, in Forest Park.

" She and her friends will have specially made white T-shirts with black

letters and sky-blue stars, " ’s mom, , said.

She and her husband, Barry, who is on the board of the Arthritis

Foundation/Eastern Missouri Chapter, have long been supporters, since their

daughter was diagnosed at age 3 with juvenile arthritis in both knees.

It was discovered in March 2003.

" She woke up one morning and said, ‘Mommy, my knees hurt,’ "

recalled.

" At the time, I also had 6-month-old twins ( and Evan) and was so

busy, " she said. " I just gave her an Advil. But the next morning, her knees

were swollen to about three or four times their normal size, and we rushed

her to the doctor in Florida, where we were living then. "

suspects developed arthritis when she was even younger, as

realizes now when looking at older pictures of and now

recognizing what she thought was chubbiness as swelling.

" She would ask me to carry her down the steps in the mornings, "

said. " Her knees probably hurt, but she wouldn’t complain about pain and we

never knew.

" Until last October, she was in remission, off medication for 1-1/2 years

after she was on it for three years, " she said. " She would get a shot of

methotrexate once a week. Then it came back in her left knee. She’s gotten

cortisone shots in her knee joints. "

Now, is thin and an athlete, in second grade at Green Trails

Elementary School.

" She’s about the fastest runner in her class, despite having arthritis, "

said. " She just did a mile in 8 minutes, 10 seconds at Green Trails.

" She plays basketball and softball and does hip hop dance, and is a fast

runner, " she said.

Now a homemaker, ’s background is in nursing, while her husband works

in financial systems implementation. is a 1991 Parkway North High

School grad and grew up in Chesterfield.

" After we moved back to St. Louis in 2003, was an honoree for the 2004

Arthritis Walk, " said.

" We’ve built teams for each walk — this year’s is our biggest, with about

40

or so coming, " she said.

" When was getting her cortisone shot in November, she told me she had

two wishes, to put up with the pain of the shot, " she said. " First, she

wanted a special Webkinz. And second, she wanted a big team for her walk. "

She got her wishes.

Plenty of friends and family will either be at the walk or are donating to

the effort.

" Arthritis is something that has really affected our lives, though thank

God, ’s is minor, " said.

" But we wanted to give back to the community. We were so dumbfounded when

she was diagnosed, and we’ve seen how much worse other cases can be, " she

said. " wants to be proactive — she’s even talking about being a

rheumatologist when she grows up. "

Today, said, her knees don’t hurt as much as they used to.

" They used to hurt so bad when I was little, but the cortisone helps a lot,

though at first, it hurts, too, " she said. " I was yelling when the needles

went in.

" Today, I like to play sports, " she said. " I want to be in the Arthritis

Walk, because it helps support people with arthritis and try to find a cure.

That’s really important. "

is among about 1.3 million Missourians, including 5,700 children,

living with arthritis pain, said Stangl, of the Arthritis

Foundation/Eastern Missouri Chapter.

" About 80 percent of the funds raised from the walk will go toward research

for arthritis medications and for a cure someday, as well as programs and

services for those with arthritis, like aquatic classes, and financial

assistance for them, " she said.

" It will also fund two local fellowships at Washington University and St.

Louis University for research, " she said.

Participation in the walk by those with arthritis and their families is

important, Stangl said.

" We recognize those living with arthritis with blue hats, " she said. " We

even give dogs with arthritis blue bandannas, so the walk is a sea of blue.

" Depending on the weather, we expect 1,200 to 2,000 in the Forest Park walk.

That show of support means everything, " she said. " Arthritis is the number

one cause of disability and is devastating, leading to a lot of people being

unable to walk, " she said. " A lot of us walk, because others can’t. "