For a Good Cause - "The Larosa Loop"

Saturday was a special day for our team members at Frazier Rehab. After months of planning, this year's "Larosa Loop" turned out to be one of the biggest yet with almost 400 participants in this family run, walk, and cycling event to honor the memory of the late Ethel Larosa-Klemens.

Dr. Larosa was a special physician who was certified both as a pediatrician and a physiatrist. There are not many physicians who have achieved this rare combination of specialties and we are still searching for someone who can attempt to fill the big shoes that she has left behind. Dr. Larosa was a champion for innovative pediatric rehabillitiation at the Frazier Rehab Institute and in her tenure, she helped rejuvenate and rehabilitate countless injured and physically limited children that were in her care. Unfortunately, at the early age of 37, Dr. Larosa lost her own battle with cancer in 2006, but her memory still lives on today. Today, we honor her legacy through this event that her family helped create with the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare Foundation. The event sponsors an endowment to provide scholarships to female medical students pursuing a degree in pediatrics or physiatry.

I had the pleasure to talk with Dr. Larosa's husband, Dr. Jim Klemens, as well as Dr. Larosa's mother and brother. Each shared with me personal stories of their memory of Ethel and it was obvious to see how much she is missed. Her husband Jim told me how they would trade stories when they both came home from work, and how he could never compete with her as she would tell him uplifting stories about how she helped a child learn how to walk again after being in an accident or similar situation. For all this event is a labour of love, but one they are proud to keep moving forward.

I am glad that I had the chance to share in this event and meet such wonderful people that are dedicated to the future of our children in need of rehabiliation. While we will miss Dr. Larosa, we can be comforted in the fact of how many children she had helped in her lifetime and how many more we will be able to help going forward in her memory.

For a Good Cause - "The Larosa Loop"