A freak wheelbarrow accident was the catalyst for the 13-year evolution of Mr. Miller, middle school math teacher, to Dr. Miller, orthopedic surgeon and orthopedic oncologist.

On Sept. 1, Justin Miller, DO, joined St. Luke’s Orthopedic Care - Tamaqua. He will treat various orthopedic conditions and perform surgery at St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale.

In 2008, 23-year-old Miller taught algebra to sixth- to eighth graders.

On weekends, he helped his father, a brick and stone mason in Yardley. One day, he accompanied his father to buy masonry materials.

While in the parking lot, his 14-year-old brother ran over the back of his ankle with the wheelbarrow, slicing his Achilles tendon.

“I dropped to the pavement,” Miller said. “I looked down and saw a huge gash in the back of my ankle.”

He hobbled to his father’s truck and went immediately to the emergency room. The next day, he had surgery, which began months of doctor visits and physical therapy sessions.

“You can imagine how angry I was with my younger brother at the time,” he said. “I was furious. But now I look back on the moment fondly. It’s a funny event. We laugh about it now because it led me down a new pathway. I couldn’t be happier with that decision.”

Like a calling, Miller knew he had to become an orthopedic surgeon. So, with his family’s emotional support and the wealth of youth, he took undergrad courses to obtain the knowledge to pass the Medical College Admission Test (MCATS).

He was accepted into the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. After medical school, he completed a residency in orthopedic oncology at Rutgers-RWJ/Jersey City Medical Center and a two-year fellowship in musculoskeletal oncology at Morristown Medical Center.

He learned how to diagnose and treat benign and malignant musculoskeletal tumors there.

After completing his education, he joined St. Luke’s because he knew several physicians who worked for the Network. He liked the team-oriented culture and focus on the patient.

Also, he wanted a position where he could work in a rural area because he enjoyed a rotation in rural medicine during his training.

Miller looks forward to working in the Tamaqua office, where he will provide general orthopedic care.

Orthopedic surgeons specialize in the musculoskeletal system comprised of the bones, joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles. They help alleviate pain and restore range of motion and function. While they may perform surgery, they also treat patients with non-surgical means. Also, they guide patients through their entire orthopedic healing and rehabilitation process.

“I’m here to treat the community and help people in pain or discomfort so they can live their best life,” he said. “It makes me happy to take my patients’ pain away and help them return to their normal activities. He enjoys orthopedics because treatment can often involve many visits over months, allowing him to develop relationships with patients and their families.

“I treated a 14-year hockey player who broke his femur while playing on the ice,” he said. “Throughout the months of rehabilitation that followed such a traumatic injury and surgery, I developed a deep relationship with him and his mother.

“I spent a lot of time with them, ensuring them that he would improve and get better. His family was so happy that when he finished rehab, they made a significant donation to the hospital. The teenager has since fully healed and is back to normal. His mother still sends me videos of him skating on the ice.”

As an orthopedic oncologist, Miller likes helping patients through their cancer journey.

“A patient may have a devastating cancer diagnosis, but as an orthopedic oncologist, you can help them through every moment and step of the way,” he said. “You treat them like your own family. Hopefully, you’re able to save their life or limb.”

During his fellowship, he treated a 15-year-old patient with a tumor in her thigh bone, just above the knee. He removed the tumor and restored the function of her leg.

“We still connect to make sure her recovery is going well. She made me a nice bracelet with a little bone on it that I still wear it to this day.”