Despite husband’s brain tumor, couple following their dreams
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
Article from Examiner
Olivia (l) and Dr. Joseph Caruso with their daughter Noiella.
Patients at the newly opened Caruso Physical Therapy and Nutrition can rest assured that they are being treated by individuals who are truly passionate about what they do.
Despite Dr. Joe Caruso being diagnosed with a grade 3 malignant brain tumor in September, he and his wife Olivia, a registered dietitian, decided to go ahead and fulfill their dream of opening their own practice.
“I always say, ‘God works in mysterious ways,’ but opening this business has been a blessing, because it just gives him that much more drive to keep going and keep fighting,” Olivia said. “Our message is, no matter what life gives you, never give up on your dreams.”
The two Hamilton residents met and became friends in middle school, then began dating in 2005, after both had returned home from college.
In 2006, disaster struck. While working for a practice as a physical therapist, Joe passed out in the bathroom. When he came to, his memory failed him and he was disoriented, but he did remember Olivia’s name.
Olivia (l) and Dr. Joseph Caruso pose with their 21-month-old daughter Noiella at a “Standing with Joe” benefit event March 3. Despite being diagnosed with brain cancer in September, Joseph, along with Olivia, opened Caruso Physical Therapy and Nutrition in Allentown in February.
Doctors discovered a sizable, but benign tumor in his brain. Surgery to remove the tumor wasn’t totally successful — some remnants of it could not be removed.
Following the surgery, Joe had to take a halfyear hiatus from work to relearn things that most take for granted, like walking and talking.
Having made it through such a harrowing trial together, the couple set about making their dreams a reality. They got married and then had a daughter, Noiella, now 21 months old.
From there, it was onward and upward toward achieving their third goal — opening a practice of their own.
“It was always a dream of ours to have our own practice,” Olivia said.
Since the first tumor was removed, Joe had been having regular MRIs to keep on top of any potential growth. When they found out in September that he had inoperable brain cancer, it was only a month before the clinic was slated to open.
The couple decided to delay their opening until Feb. 13 while Joe began undergoing a combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
He has suffered the typical symptoms of the treatments, including hair, weight and appetite loss; change in taste; nausea; and allergic reaction to the chemotherapy, for which he is taking steroids to counteract.
“This experience made us want to open our business even more,” she said. “Maybe a lot of people think we are crazy for still opening our business, but working through this, I think, has helped him; his patients help give him strength.”
A 12-year veteran of the kinesiology field, Joe offers patients one-on-one outpatient orthopedic physical therapy, including pain management, post-surgical rehabilitation, and sports and exercise training. Olivia’s 11 years in the nutrition industry have equipped her with the tools to provide nutrition education, as well as weight loss and weight gain services tailored to each patient’s needs.
“We are able to relate to our patients, because we are a patient and a caregiver ourselves,” she said. “We also believe that we are able to offer our patients more than physical therapy and nutrition, [because] we have such a spiritual connection with each other and our patients. We feel part of what is healing is not only our skills we have learned in school, but what our life has taught us as well.” It appears that life has taught them a lot. Although they inevitably go through times when their circumstances get them down, the two have managed to stay largely positive through a devastating situation.
“We believe staying positive and being spiritual helps you heal and helps you to reach your goals,” Olivia said. “We have been able to stay positive through all of this because we feel as though there is no other way to be. We say, ‘God is just giving us a really crazy story to tell everyone.’ ”
Caruso Physical Therapy and Nutrition is located at 1278 Yardville Allentown Road, Suite 3. For more information, visit www.carusoptrd.com.
Article from Examiner
