Through his job as an ambulance driver in the Netherlands, Kees Veldboer had numerous meaningful connections with the patients he drove.
However, none of them were as life-changing as that one time when he drove one terminally-ill patient from one hospital to another in 2006.
Life-Changing Transport Inspires Kees to Do More
This man had been in a hospital bed for three months so Kees asked him if he would like a detour to a place that he would want to see.
The man told him he sailed for several years so he chose a drive to the canal in Vlaardingen. This was a simple request; however, it meant so much to him, more than Kees says he could’ve imagined.
Kees says they were there for an hour and it was a lovely sunny day. He saw tears running down the man’s face from joy. When he realized how much this meant to the man, Kees promised him that he would find a way for him to sail once again.
The man appreciated Kees’ kindness but didn’t think it was doable. Still, Kees was very determined. He contacted a tour boat company and his boss and arranged for the man to be taken out on the Rotterdam harbor. They transported him on a stretcher.
This was the first wish that was successfully fulfilled so Kees decided to fulfill many more. He launched his organization and named it Ambulance Wish Foundation.
Immobile Patients Given a Unique Opportunity: Their Last Wish Is Made Reality
Using the help of 230 medically trained volunteers, Kees helped terminally-ill patients to have their one last wish fulfilled on any day of the week, including holidays. All of this is done without the patients having to pay a dime.
And, there’s no “too big of a wish” for the organization. Plenty of them happen throughout the Netherlands, but the volunteers also go above and beyond to fulfill wishes that involve traveling abroad.
The wishes of the terminally-ill people are simple: seeing the ocean once more, enjoying an ice cream cone, or seeing their home for the last time. Regardless of the wish, one thing stays the same. This request changes their lives.
This organization is proof that people who’re bedridden or terminally ill can still experience joy, even if they’re sometimes feeling so bad that they’ll pass away on that same day or several days after.
This organization has already made a huge impact in the lives of terminally-ill patients; 6000 of them had their last wish fulfilled by the lovely volunteers.
Unfortunately, Kees passed away from cardiac arrest in July 2021, but his mission is continued. The organization’s website states that “the planned wishes will, as far as possible, be carried out in the agreed manner in accordance with Kees’s wishes”.
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