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INVERNESS, N.S. —

Joe MacDonald admits he was never any good at telling jokes.

But if you were ever scared or anxious in the back of his ambulance, Inverness County's longstanding paramedic knew just the trick.

“Mostly what I would do is, I would hold their hand,” said the Inverness village father-of-two.

“And maybe I would tell them, ‘Hold my hand and feel the warmth in my hand. You’re going to be all right.’”

MacDonald, who retired last Saturday, has been bringing comfort to the ill or injured for 47 years.

But his training began a few years earlier, at age 18, when he says he fell face first into the profession.

“My best friend in high school, his father owned the ambulance service and he always needed someone to give him a lift,” said MacDonald, now 69.

“I was older than his son, so I got the job, and then I ended up working for them.”

Joe MacDonald

Age : 69

: 69 Family : Wife Reine Anne and two adult children

: Wife Reine Anne and two adult children Hobbies : Walking his dogs along the beach

: Walking his dogs along the beach Career : Worked as paramedic for 47 years

: Worked as paramedic for 47 years Quote : "I was never any good at telling jokes. I know a lot of them are, and it makes people at ease to get them laughing."

: "I was never any good at telling jokes. I know a lot of them are, and it makes people at ease to get them laughing." Nickname: Joe 90 or 90

Back in the early 1970s, MacDonald said a First-Aid course from St. John’s Ambulance was his only prerequisite.

Today’s paramedics must now complete a registered training program and pass a provincial exam.

As part of their evolving duties, Emergency Health Services employees are now found inside collaborative health centres and provide at-home assistance to palliative care patients.

“As soon as you proved yourself — you were out on your own,” MacDonald said of his early days. “I stayed with what I was good at, I guess. Hopefully, I was good at it.”

In Nova Scotia’s rural communities, residents often bump into each another, which was common for MacDonald and his former patients.

“They’d say, ‘Remember me?’ And I’d say, ‘No, I don’t remember you’ and they’d say things like: ‘Well you took me in the ambulance one night and you made me feel so comfortable’ … then I would recognize them, because when somebody’s sick they look a lot different than they do when they’re at Tim Hortons.”

During one particular encounter, MacDonald remembers helping a woman reach an item from a grocery store shelf.

“She said ‘Joe could you get me that bottle of Pepsi?’ I said, ‘I don’t recognize you.’ And she said, ‘Don’t you remember the night I had twins?’”

MacDonald's upbeat manner changes and his voices trails off when asked about stressful experiences he’s encountered over the years.

Pictured is an ambulance van that was driven by Joe (90) MacDonald in Inverness County back in the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

Paramedics aren't ones for talking about the "ambulance business," he says.

He credits support from his co-workers in keeping his spirits up, and allowing him to stay in the field for as long as he has.

A Margaree paramedic who worked alongside MacDonald for 14 years noted that his colleague never stopped caring.

"He was passionate about people’s comfort and always wanted to make sure that everyone, including his partners, were happy," said Jason McDaniel.

"He had a football field of experience and it was evident. If you didn’t get a good story and a chuckle while working a shift with Joe, the day wasn’t complete."

Deputy Warden for Inverness County Alfred Poirier said MacDonald has been well-respected both in Inverness and throughout the wider community.

"When you spend that many years in your profession, well it says a lot," said Poirier. "I know all the boys and girls down here have the highest respect for him."

During the most difficult times, MacDonald said he leaned on his wife Reine Anne.

“My wife is very supportive,” he said. “There were often nights when she had to get out of the bed because I was restless. And what I was doing was thinking about something that had happened. You don’t forget about those things ever.”

As part of his ambulance runs, MacDonald was responsible for a large territory that, at times, included parts of Cheticamp, Port Hood and Whycocomagh.

He said many residents in the area came to know him as “Joe 90” or "90" — a nickname given to him not long into his career.

While driving through Inverness with his siren blaring and lights flashing, MacDonald said a young boy standing outside a restaurant said ‘Holy Smokes, there goes Joe going 90.’

“And that was it,” said MacDonald. “The man he was talking to started it right from there.”

As for retirement plans, MacDonald said he’s looking forward to regular walks on the beach with his two dogs.

VIDEO

Joe (90) MacDonald is shown in the passenger side of an ambulance last Saturday at his retirement party. The Inverness paramedic was given a proper send off after working as a paramedic for the last 47 years.