By Kellah Lavoie

Wakaw doctor retires, donates clinic to town

Dec 28, 2010 | 10:29 AM

After 55 years of helping patients, Dr. Fred Cenaiko is retiring.

The 84-year-old has been in Wakaw, Sask. since June 30, 1955. He calls the past half-century “a wonderful experience.”

“I did surgeries here, I did deliveries here, I had the opportunity to do medical work in Honduras. I made about 22 trips to Honduras on medial missions and the people have been very, very wonderful to me,” he said.

For 22 years, he said he was the only doctor in Wakaw. He was on call 24 hours a day.

He said he has lots of memories in his time there. He attempted delivering conjoined twins – he didn’t know they were conjoined at the time since there were no ultrasounds – and had to rush the mother to Saskatoon.

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Cenaiko said he used to have to use his car as an ambulance as well.

“In those days we didn’t have ambulances. I used by station wagon as an ambulance,” he explained, adding each trip he would make was a $50 charge.

“We never treated patients as patients, we treated them as friends. And that was part of the community… I delivered mother’s (babies) that I delivered.”

Cenaiko is not leaving in vain.

The doctor plans to stay in the community. He is even donating his own clinic – the Wakaw Medical Clinic – to the town.

He said so far there is no replacement for him. His last day is Dec. 31.

He called it an emotional time.

“I’ve had nothing but a wonderful experience,” he said.

“It’s a friendship type of relationship that I had with my patients.”

klavoie@panow.com