Sometimes, life throws devastatingly cruel curveballs our way – and none more cruel than a terminal illness diagnosis.
But it is through these adverse periods of life that true kindness can shine through. Such is the case of two paramedics who took it upon themselves to make a dying woman’s final wish come true.
That wish? To go to the beach, just one last time.
In a Facebook post posted by Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), Danielle Kellum and Graeme Cooper of Hervey Bay’s ambulance team were transporting a patient to palliative care when she expressed that would love to be by the sea.
So that’s what these paramedics did – they took their patient to the beach.
“A crew were transporting a patient to the palliative care unit of the local hospital and the patient expressed that she just wished she could be at the beach again,” the post read.
“Above and beyond, the crew took a small diversion to the awesome beach at Hervey Bay to give the patient this opportunity – tears were shed and the patient felt very happy.”
As reported by the Daily Mail, after making sure their patient was safely back in the ambulance after wheeling her out to look at the water, Danielle asked the woman what she was thinking.
“She said: ‘I’m at peace, everything is right’,” Danielle remembers.
The terminally ill woman passed just days later.
Looking back to the QAS’ Facebook post, this thoughtful gesture is just another example of the selfless, life-changing work our paramedics do for people across the country every day.
“Sometimes it is not the drugs/training/skills – sometimes all you need is empathy to make a difference!”
