Joe of All Trades

Everyone should know a Joe Renaldo. He’s part of the team (a Rotarian from St. Maries club) and came on this mission to be our ward coordinator. But this retired veterinarian from north Idaho has shown that he can do just about anything asked of him.

On the second day, it became apparent that some of our female patients would need pregnancy tests before surgery. While she brought the tests, our pediatrician Amy did not have collection cups for the urine sample. So Joe went to work.

He gathered some empty water bottles, cut off the ends, and, using a tongue depressor ,designed his first prototype. He even thought to add some duct tape along the jagged edge of the plastic just so patients could avoid getting scratched or cut while collecting the sample. The concept wasn’t proven until the next day when the first tests were administered. However, by then he had a new design with a handle. And…he had mass produced some collection cups – enough for a few days.

The ward coordinator has the tough job of keeping track of everyone as they enter the hospital and are assigned a bed the night before surgery and then following the surgery when they are taken to another ward for rest and an overnight stay. Joe’s been doing that too amid the chaos of this mission operation. The communication barrier continues to be tough for all of us but Joe handles it with a smile and a chuckle.

The shock to many of us came on day three of surgery when Brad, one of our surgeons, needed help sewing up a large graft site. Joe scrubbed in and went to work, expertly stitching the wound closed while the surgeon did the grafting. He’s done a few more closes since and the surgeons have been very appreciative of his tidy stitching and support as they have had a heavy case load.

If we give an award for the best all-around contribution my vote will go to Joe. He’s truly been an asset to the team and personified the service that Rotary represents.

Joe the Inventor -- prototype A on the right with
the tongue depressor design. On the left is the
second version with a built-in handle. Patent pending.

Joe changes bandages on a burn victim who had his facial scars revised.

Joe the stitcher closing a graft site. Surgeon Brad (tall guy on the left) grafts
the skin to the patients neck, which will allow her to move her head again.