Page 14 - Healthcare News 2023 Healthcare Heroes

HEALTHCARE HEROES OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
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Senk
Cindy Senk calls these women “the heart of my in-person classes on Tuesday nights.”
Disabilities Act codified many accessibility measures.
But Bobby had his family.
“My mother was a real advocate for
him,” Senk recalled. “And we grew up in
this environment in Forest Park where Bobby was one of the gang. We would accommodate him if he had trouble keeping up because of his crutches; we would just get him in a wagon and drag him around the neighborhood. He was always just part of the group. There was no, ‘well, Bobby can’t do that, so we can’t do it.’ It was never like that. It was always, ‘how can we creatively include him?’ And I think that’s really where this passion of mine comes from.”
Senk has had her own share of physical challenges as well; she was diagnosed with spinal issues at age 18 — issues that led to a lifetime of arthritis and have given her unique insight into people with similar problems, and led her into decades of advocacy in the broader arthritis community.
She’s never been free from arthritis; in fact, the day she spoke with BusinessWest at her home, Senk said she woke up with a lot of pain.
“It was just one of those days, you know?” she said. “So I started my gentle yoga I do every morning, I got in the shower, I was moving around my house, I had a class online that I teach, and then I had a client. And now I feel 1,000% better from when I woke up at 5:30 because I’ve been moving for six hours.
“It comes down to wanting to help people be functional, be fit, and have tools they can use to help themselves with whatever challenges they’re facing. And
I think my passion for that came from a young age. Everything kind of flowed from all that: discovering how movement helps me and sharing that with others. Because I know how much movement helps me.”
Senk started her career with group exercise like step aerobics and regular low-impact aerobics, and later started
“She met me where I was and created a personalized plan to move me to where I needed to be. She empowered me to take charge of
my healing, unlocking the power inside of
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the community, especially populations not always served well, and it certainly makes Senk deserving of being called a Healthcare Hero.
Brotherly Inspiration
Senk traces her passion for helping people to her childhood — in particular, her experiences with her younger brother, Bobby, who was born with cerebral palsy in 1955, long before the Americans with
step at a time.
me, one”
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H14 2023
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