As he stood up from his chair, a nurse walked up to Robert Mankel to tell him the condition of the child about to be weighed.

The patient had severe polio and very serious foot problems. He was unable to stand on a scale. The only solution was for someone to hold the child in their arms so the nurse could find his correct weight.

That’s how Mankel, a Navy veteran, spends his days at St. Andrew’s Children's Clinic: lifting children, sometimes heavy ones, so they can be weighed on the clinic’s scale. Mankel lifts them, out of their wheelchairs in some instances, and into his arms, where a nurse subtracts his weight of 160 pounds from the number on the scale to find the child’s weight.

Mankel sports all black, from his shoes all the way up to his cowboy hat. He’s even got a tattoo on his right arm.

But that’s not what fools you about Mankel.

At age 83, Mankel’s role at the clinic is a bit uncharacteristic for someone his age. That’s right, 83 years old. A World War II veteran, Mankel's service may not stand out, but after volunteering there for four years, he has become a mainstay at the St. Andrew’s.

“I just hold up the kids, weigh them, and that’s it,” Mankel said. “I’m just helping out people that need it.”

It also helps that Mankel is one of the volunteers fluent in Spanish. He also acts as an interpreter to help the communication between the nurses and patients.

Most people his age have trouble lifting anything, but Mankel stays in shape by getting a lot of exercise, including chopping wood. However, his secret, he says, is healthy eating.

Mankel has seven kids of his own. Between his kids, he has 10 grandkids, several of which are following in his Navy footsteps.

Mankel jokes and carries a light-hearted personality that helps him through his daily routine. He shows no signs of ever slowing down.

“I could do this as far as I could go,” Mankel said. “I feel good.”



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