Hospital staff breaks out X-ray machine in Hail Mary to save woman's missing wedding rings

Most people have lost an item or accidentally left something behind, like their car keys, phone, or purse. But for Susan Sinnwell, a simple medical visit to a local Iowa hospital turned into a trash treasure hunt for her grandparents’ wedding rings. When all seemed lost, hope was found, along with the rings, thanks to a portable X-ray machine.

Sinnwell was visiting Grundy County Memorial Hospital for an X-ray and removed her grandparents’ wedding rings for the procedure. It wasn’t until the day after her visit that she realized the rings she had wrapped in a napkin were missing. She then realized she accidentally tossed the wrapped napkin with the heirloom rings into a trash bin before leaving the hospital.

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“When I threw the napkin away, it sounded funny when it hit the garbage,” Sinnwell told Iowa News Now. “But I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

When Sinnwell realized what had happened, she and the hospital staff searched for the rings, finding out that the trash from the day before had been collected, compacted, and tossed with other trash bags. The rings were lost somewhere in a pile of many days’ worth of garbage.

“That’s when we knew it was going to be a big job,” said hospital imaging manager Craig Buskohl.

Maintenance sifted through 50 to 60 trash bags with a metal detector, separating any bag that triggered a signal. However, upon further inspection, none of those bags appeared to have contained the rings. That’s when Buskohl had an idea.

He brought out the portable X-ray machine to the hospital’s ambulance garage. It was there where they X-rayed bag after bag. After 45 minutes of scanning and 35 X-ray images processed, the rings were seen on the screen and taken out of the trash. The very reason why the family heirlooms were taken off and lost turned into the best way to recover them.

Buskohl was delighted yet understandably surprised.

“Honestly, I didn’t think we were going to find them — but we did,” he said.

Sinnwell was floored when she got the phone call from Buskohl at the hospital to tell her that the rings were recovered. It wasn’t just surprising to her that they found a needle in a haystack (well, two rings in a trash mountain, in this case), but that so many of the hospital’s staff chipped in to help.

After a brief check through the garbage, Buskhol and the other hospital staff could have understandably shrugged and told Sinnwell the rings were gone for good. Instead, they went beyond the extra mile and found a creative solution.

“When he told me how many people helped and everything they did, I just couldn’t believe it,” Sinnwell gushed. “This is the best place for care.”