Why I Run: Joe Russo
Healing is rarely just about physical recovery; it’s about helping people rediscover their strength when they need it most. And for nearly three decades, Joe Russo has done exactly that as a physical therapist at New York-Presbyterian.
For Joe Russo, the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine and related practices came after considerable time spent balancing caring for others with nurturing himself. He began working at New York-Presbyterian in March of 1997, eleven years after he and his wife Marilyn met in physical therapy school. Passionate about helping others, Joe had been specializing in at-home and on-site physical therapy facilitated by other healthcare institutions. Marilyn had been working at NYP and suggested Joe apply; soon enough they were both helping care for patients there. “Working in acute care, something clicked for me—it was exciting to be in that environment; I was surrounded by extraordinary colleagues,” Joe shares.
He began working closely with cancer patients at some of the most vulnerable points in their lives, helping them regain strength, mobility, and a sense of independence. Recognizing the mental and emotional pressures patients were experiencing as they navigated life with illness, Joe realized another passion of his could prove essential to his care: Tai Chi, Qigong, and other Traditional Chinese Medicine. "Those practices became part and parcel of my toolkit that I would draw upon," reveals Joe.
Just as it pointed him towards NYP, Marilyn's guidance had directed Joe to qigong in 1994. "My wife had started Tai Chi and I would watch her practice.” At her suggestion, he took up classes specializing in qigong and quickly fell in love with it. “I actually took two semesters of that, and it got my courage up to try tai chi—and it was no turning back, it just clicked with me." Integral to these mind-body practices was mindfulness meditation and self-compassion as discipline: by embracing the uncertain with kindness, patient and caregiver alike create space for soothing and solution-building that comforts all involved. Joe posits, “I’m a physical therapist . . . I have this opportunity—this privilege of being there with people in need. Because I saw that these practices were helping me personally in my life I felt 'let me try this with my patients'."
