There was no question that fraternal twins brothers, Peter and Paul Stasko were close. Both seemed to like the same things, especially sports, more specifically - hockey.
In elementary school, in hometown Batavia, the Stasko boys pulled the old twin switcheroo on occasion and both decided to stay in step and attend the national Sports Academy in Lake Placid to continue their love of the ice.
After graduation, Peter and Paul (No, there is no Mary in the family) attended SUNY Brockport for their undergraduate studies, then DeMoyne University in Iowa for their medical degrees. Of course, both continued to play hockey on the collegiate level.
It was at this point that both siblings decided on identical careers in the medicine of foot and ankle. They deny the move was made to save on textbooks, but admitted they did have the same study groups. As far as grades, went, both teeter-totted within a miniscule grade point average of each other throughout their medical specialty studies.
The boys separated a bit during their residencies. Paul served his three year residency in Scranton, Pennsylvania and did his podiatric Fellowship in Baltimore, Maryland. Peter ended up in Western, Pennsylvania, then did his fellowship in Pittsburgh.
So how did twin brothers end up in the same medical field? Peter said his interest began at age 14 taking high school biology and shadowing a family friend in the medical practice.
Paul too shadowed the same mentor in high school and wound up with the same conclusion.
Peter joined Dr. Daniel Alexander’s Finger Lakes Bone and Joint Center at Newark Wayne Hospital, where he has built a strong practice over the past year. The need for the ankle and foot surgery specialty built so fast that Dr. Alexander asked Paul if Peter would also be interested in joining the Wayne County practice.
Paul, who had been practicing the foot and ankle end of things at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse jumped at the chance to join his brother. “We kind of thought someday we would practice together,” said Peter.
For the past two weeks, the twins have been working in tandem, both in surgery and in consultations. Both live in the Canandaigua area. Both are married, Peter with three children (no twins), Paul, the newlywed.
Okay, but why both in podiatric surgery? “The foot and ankle are underserved as a specialty,” recalled Peter on the singular choice. The two handle the total picture of foot care. They both view their similar choices in life as a “strength” and continue to play on the same recreational hockey team in Canandaigua, and have always played on the same line.
The brothers have strong connections to the same church, both are extremely family-oriented, love boating, skiing and race cars.
The brothers Mom and Dad still live in Batavia and younger brother, Michael, is currently at Niagara University, debating his life course. Their father still works selling insurance as a State Farm agent and Mom is a retired physical education teacher.
As for the local adjustments to Newark Wayne Hospital, the brothers agree the hospital administration, support and nursing staff are “awesome” and feel the staff is almost to the point of telling them apart.
