We want to hear from you! Click here to add your personal story and testimonial, and share your story with other families effected by pectus defects.

I am writing this testimonial letter as a parent as well as a physician. Even though I am a medical doctor, I also am a parent of a son who needed the expertise of Pectus Services and Joe.

I looked through my medical  text books from school and also on the internet and found little information on the condition known as 'pigeon chest' that was of any real help. I saw Joe's website and it sparked my interest right away. I was dreading the thought of my son Wyatt having to have surgery.

Before we took my son Wyatt to see Joe, I brought him to a local university hospital where they fitted him with a brace. The brace took 2 weeks to arrive. It was uncomfortable and just plain did not work.

Since then we traveled to see Joe at his facility in New Jersey.  I am happy to report that Joe’s T-Joe brace has begun working within days of beginning to wear it and my son is very comfortable and on his way to correction. Wyatt underwent not only getting brace fitting but worked out twice a day with Joe and another of his staff Trainers’ - Pete.

My son also got a very soothing sports type massage from Jennifer who targets the pectus muscles. As Joe promised it really helped to soften and relax his muscles.

I can not speak highly enough of what Joe has done for us. He is a top notch professional and is dedicated and truly cares about his patients.  This is something you do not always get in the health care system.
 
I am so content with Joe's care I am putting in my cell phone number and e-mail address for anyone who would like to talk with me further about my experience with going to Joe. I would never do this for anyone else because i realize it could result in alot of calls during my practice time, but Joe was a life saver for us and it is the least I can do to promote his company and encourage other parents and their kids.

Sincerely,  Roy Donovan M.D.
Phone & email furnished upon request.

Hi,

My son Luke had a pectus problem which became very noticeable when he was in eighth grade (5 years ago). I did a lot of research on the internet before stumbling across Joe’s name in a pectus forum. I was very skeptical and cautious. Joe really can and does help. Not just my son but probably hundreds (by now) of children. The bracing works. In my son’s case, it worked so well that today you’d never know he had a problem. His chest is “perfect” and we owe that to Joe and his bracing system. Luke is a senior in HS this year. He is a excellent wrestler and lacrosse player. He was recruited to play lacrosse for West Point next year. When he was younger he never wanted to take his shirt off at the beach. Now his shirt is off constantly and he’s very proud of his physique. Anyway, Joe has helped many children with pectus problems and he can help your child too.

Call me if you have questions I might be able to answer.

-Chris

My son Luke (in red) setting a NJ state record in wrestling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmWGV6dL5OY

Hi Joe!

We are home. We got home around 2pm and Nicky is fine. He thought he wanted a pill but changed his mind when we got home. He's resting now and I am busy unpacking... I will never forget how kind you were to all of us, Joe.

I can't thank you enough. You must find tremendous satisfaction in your job because what you do for these kids is something like a miracle. When I think back to where we were over the holidays and later with facing pectus carinatum surgery and having little hope in what I was doing on the Internet to find a brace and I look where we are right now, I have to shake my head and pinch myself to make sure this all has really happened.

We have you and what you do to thank for this. It's not just what you do; it's how you do it. You really made us feel at home and we were all so very comfortable. I am already looking forward to our return trip in July! But for now, I'll say good bye because I have so much unpacking to do.

I will call the insurance company in the morning. Also, I'll send along some of the pictures I took of you working with Nick.

Please, use my email address for any Mom's and Dad's out there who are unsure of making the New Jersey trip to get a brace because I'd be more than happy to help out that way. I'll be in touch Joe. Bye for now.

Michele

Trainer Joe

A wonderful guy
Will take in any pectus kid
In a blink of an eye

With kind words
And a huge smile on his face
He works all hours
To build a brace

He is able to build confidence
In every pectus child he sees
Through his tough workouts
The kids start to believe.

He is one of a kind
Friendly and caring
Giving all that he knows
Through teaching and sharing

Money does not play a part of his success
But dedication that’s the key to his success

He has found his calling
And gives it straight from his heart.

                        By Roni Hayes

Trainer Joe,  

We never met but corresponded over email about our son's pectus. He had Nuss surgery (by Dr. Nuss) in 7th grade, revision in 8th (he outgrew the bar during a growth spurt ---20 pounds and 4 inches in 4 months)  and the had  bar out in 10th grade. He played football and lax (starter in both)  in 11th and 12th grade (current grade) and is doing great with endurance and physical ability. Going to college this fall at UMd or James Madison or Univ South Carolina and will probably play intramaural basketball (sorry never a hockey player!). Thanks for your advice through the years regarding exercises, etc.....Let people know that these kids can get through their trial with this condition/surgery. Dr. Nuss is an angel in our house that made our son's life better and don't want to think about what would have happened if Nuss hadn't created this new procedure.

Linda O.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter to inform you of the wonderful things that Joe Porcello is doing to help people everywhere.  I have a 14 year old son, Kyle who had to have surgery for the repair of Pectus Excavatum, a chest wall deformity.   In November, we traveled to Norfolk Virginia from Tupelo Mississippi to have this surgery.  We met Joe Porcello (Trainer Joe) the day we were discharged from the hospital.  Kyle had severe pain from the surgery that his medications would not control.  Trainer Joe gave of his time and his skill to help Kyle with pain management.  He not only had the skills needed to relieve Kyle from pain, he had the heart of wanting to help and it was obvious from the very first time that we met him.  We flew back to Tupelo 2 days after meeting Trainer Joe and by the time we got home, he had called to see how Kyle made the flight.  I knew now for sure this guy was special.  For 5 weeks after surgery, we were in contact with Trainer Joe on several occasions to help Kyle through some very intense pain.  Over the telephone he was able to help me do different things that would relax Kyle and help relieve pain.  On one occasion, he was in severe pain, he had gone to the Doctor that day, and all they could tell him to do was to take his medicine.  At this point, the medications were not doing any good.  I called Trainer Joe and within 20 minutes, Kyle’s pain was completely gone. 

As a Mother who watched her son endure some very rough times I can tell you that someone like Trainer Joe is an answer to prayer.  I know he has a very busy schedule but he was never too busy to help us with anything that came our way, and he truly wanted to be able to make a difference.  To sum up what I am trying to say, Joe is someone who is very skilled in what he does and he knows how to help people from all ages with all kinds of problems.  I am convinced that what he brings into this world is very special and he is driven by the need to help people and he really cares.   He worked with Kyle for many weeks and made countless telephone calls to check on him all because he cared.  I know that people are put in your lives for a reason and Trainer Joe is someone who we will never forget and always be grateful.  We are truly blessed to have met someone like him.

Sincerely,
Angie Thornto

Hi Joe,

Congratulations on your success. Michael is doing great and never had to wear the brace after he completed your initial period of treatment. His chest is doing fine and he is now 6'2" tall. The correction not only fixed his physical appearance, but it has done so much for his self confidence. Thanks again for your help!

Becky & Don

Hi Joe!

Julie Cash emailed me last night asking for my story. I wanted to let you know that she emailed and I always like the share my response with you so you know what I said.

Anyway, here is my response that I emailed back to her. Every time I share our testimony my heart fills with love and fondness even more for you Joe. We love you!! :)

Love and hugs to you !!!

Stacy

Hi Julie!

It is my honor to share our story, as we fully believe Joe was our miracle! I have twin boys, Taylor and Tanner. We always knew the boys chest seemed..."different" but it was not too bad when they were little, and my husband was always tall and skinny and boney when he was young, so we attributed to them needing to "get some meat on them" so to speak. They are 15 now.

2 years ago when they were 13 Taylor took his shirt off after a basketball game and I was shocked at how his chest looked, as at that age they don't really like mom looking I had not noticed it. It was poking out like a little elbow from his chest!! My next door neighbor is an emergency room Dr. at our local hospital, so at 10 pm we walked over and I asked her to look at it. She imedietly said it was "pigeon breast". She told me to look it up on the net. So I did. What I found scared me to death.

That night I stayed up on the net researching until 4am. The things I read about "pigeon breast" , a slang term for Pectus Carinatum, and the pictures I saw and the surgery for it literally had me on my knees praying that night. Through the night I found a Pectus forum where many people talked about "Trainer Joe". Eventually I found Trainer Joe's site and I had to email him to be accepted onto his site, so I did. He immediately emailed me back offering his help. This scared me to death. An internet person offering help. What is he was a mad man? haha! Crazy? Who knows. Anyway, I avoided calling him and proceeded to read his site. I can only offer you my story from my Christian perspective since that is where I come from, I fully believe God led me to Joe. Eventually I had questions so I emailed Joe again. Once again Joe suggested I call him. Once again I hesitated. I was not the kind of person to respond to internet people!! But I couldnt help but believe this man could offer insight so 2 days later I did call him.

My testimony is long and I don't want to bore you so I will just say that I fully believe God led me to Joe. I talked on the phone with Joe, and also a gentleman who happened to be there at that MOMENT with his son having Joe brace him. He shared his story with me, and told me how lucky I was to have found Joe so early in our "process" as his son had not been so fortunate. I told my husband about this and we prayed for 2 days. I don't mean to push my religion on you, I am simply sharing my story.

It was February of 06 when this all started. 6 days after that basketball game we were on overload but I felt in my spirit an urgency to pursue this and not wait. So by the weekend my husband and I fully believed we should go see Joe. We live in Missouri, Joe is in New Jersey. We knew our family would think we were crazy so we only shared with those we felt would support us if not agree with us, after all this moved very quickly and within a week were were on the road across country to visit a man whom I had found on the internet...it doesn't get any stranger than that!!

We pulled both the boys and our 15 yr old daughter out of school the following Monday, piled them and my 30 year old brother (who tagged along for the visit to new york) into our high top van along with my husband and myself and set out towards new york.

We stayed in New Jersey for 1 week and fell in love with Joe, and watched a miracle happen in front of our eyes. Crazy as all this appeared to our family, the fact is we went against logic and normal medical society and followed our hearts. Joe worked with them and made a brace for them while we were there. It required a lot of work, time and some pain but when we left we knew we had done the right thing. We came home with braces for both the boys. The brace was unobtrusive and the boys knew a brace was better than surgery. They go to a small Christian school and the kids were all nice and accepting. If you didn't know they had a brace on you could not really tell. They adapted to sleeping with the brace fine, but I believe the kids must have the right attitude when approaching some milestone like this, and thankfully they did.

The brace was to be worn 24/7 for at least 3 months then slowly ween off it until the chest could hold its shape without it, eventually wearing it less and less. Joe made no promises for length of time, each chest is different he said. Our story is different in that Joe was surprised at how well the boys chest changed and more importantly how fast. I believe that is part of our miracle. By the end of 3 months both boys were only wearing the brace at night and to sleep in...from 4 pm after school until 7 am. Their chest would hold the new shape and we were all so thankful. They continued to wear the brace at night for the rest of the school year, then eventually went to wearing it every other night.

We paid for Joe to fly into Missouri to visit the boys and adjust their brace once, in April, a couple months after wearing it. We took Joe to a local show and did some fun things with him. He works so hard and it was fun to give him a rest and fun time. We were so thankful he was willing to do this for us. I don't want to put him on the spot, I have no idea if he does that all the time, but we were thankful he was willing to do it for us, but we had adopted Joe into our family and consider him a friend for life now.
Today the boys are 15 and their chests look beautiful. They hardly wear the brace now, but we know they are not done growing and a growth spurt could cause the chest to protrude again. The put the brace on now and again to make sure the chest is not growing outward, if it feels tight they wear the brace at night to sleep in again. We may or may not need to see Joe again for their chest as they grow, since the brace would need adjusted, but I feel we will see him again regardless. He is a blessing and this is his mission in life...to help kids with Pectus. We have watched his practice grow into such a blessing for other kids.

That is our testimony and I am always happy to share it with anyone. Our journey is not over with Pectus yet since the boys have a lot of growing to do yet but we are thankful for a happy ending that did not invovle surgery. I hope our story blesses you and if you have any other questions, please feel free to email me again. If you would like my phone number I am happy to share it. I have met many wonderful folks now that Joe has helped.

Blessings to you,

Stacy