The People Who Make Last Wishes Come True

I’ve learned that people who are going to die have little wishes，” says Kees Veldboer， the ambulance driver who founded the Stichting Ambulance Wens， or Ambulance Wish Foundation.

In November 2006 he was moving a terminally ill patient， Mario Stefanutto， from one hospital to another. But just after they put him on the 1）stretcher， they were told there would be a delay—the receiving hospital wasn’t ready. Stefanutto had no desire to get back in the bed where he had spent the past three months， so Veldboer asked if there was anywhere he would like to go.

The retired seaman asked if they could take him to the Vlaardingen 2）canal， so he could be by the water and say a final goodbye to 3）Rotterdam harbour. It was a sunny day， and they stayed on the 4）dockside for nearly an hour. “Tears of joy ran over his face，” says Veldboer. “When I asked him： ‘Would you like to have the opportunity to sail again？’ he said it would be impossible because he lay on a stretcher.”

Veldboer was determined to make this man’s last wish come true. He asked his boss if he could borrow an ambulance on his day off， recruited the help of a colleague and contacted a firm that does boat tours around Rotterdam harbour—they were all happy to help， and the following Friday， to Stefanutto’s astonishment， the ambulance driver turned up at his hospital bedside to take him sailing.

That was the 5）genesis of the Ambulance Wish Foundation. Veldboer and his wife Ineke， a nurse， started it at their kitchen table eight years ago. Now it has 230 volunteers， six ambulances and a holiday home， and is fast approaching 7，000 fulfilled wishes. On average， the charity helps four people a day—they can be any age and the only 6）stipulation is that patients are terminally ill and can’t be transported other than on a stretcher.

Although other charities offer terminally ill patients a day out， the Ambulance Wish Foundation was the first to provide an ambulance and full medical back-up. There is always a fully-trained nurse on board， and the specialist drivers tend to come from the police and fire brigades. The specially-designed ambulances have a view， and every patient receives a teddy bear called Mario， named after Stefanutto.

“It gives us volunteers so much satisfaction to see people enjoying themselves，” says Roel Foppen， a former soldier who acts as a driver. Over the past six years he has helped to fulfil 300 wishes.

Once he went as far as Romania， a 4，500km roundtrip. It was for a woman called Nadja， who had lived in the Netherlands for 12 years. Her children， aged three and seven， were already back in Romania with her family， and she wanted to go there to die.

“She was so ill we couldn’t even touch her，” says Foppen. They left on a Thursday morning， but as they were driving through Germany Nadja’s condition 7）deteriorated， so they stopped at a hospital. Doctors recommended Nadja stay there， but she wanted to see her children—and her wish was what counted. After a three-hour delay they carried on， through Austria， then Hungary—when they reached the Romanian border， Nadja said， “Take the stretcher out， now I can die！”

Foppen said， “It’s just another 600km to your mother and your children—could you 8）hang on just a little longer？” On the Saturday the ambulance arrived in 9）Bucharest for an emotional reunion. Then the crew drove back， leaving Nadja behind. Her family sent a card to say she died two weeks later.

“If people know we’re coming， they find new reserves of energy，” says Foppen. “Often the family tell us they were about to cancel because the patient was so ill， but when we arrive they are 10）beaming， ready for their day out.”

Knot， who works as a 11）district nurse. She first came across the charity when she was invited along by a cancer patient she had grown close to. The experience made Knot so enthusiastic she wrote to Veldboer to offer her services.

“Every time is special. You discuss it with your colleagues on the way home and it’s always special， no matter how small，” says Knot. “I had one lady who just wanted a glass of advocaat （a thick egg liqueur） at home. So her son bought a bottle， we went to her house， she spooned up the advocaat and we went back. That was her wish.”

“People ask， ‘Isn’t it draining？ Isn’t it emotional， always dealing with last wishes？’ Yes it is， but often people are ready to die because they are so far down the line， and then it’s nice to give them something they really want，” she says.

Frans Lepelaar is a former policeman who now drives for the charity. After 20 years behind a desk， investigating 12）fraud， he wanted to get back to helping people face-toface.

“It can be a long day—you could be back in the middle of the night. We always ask， ‘Do you want anything more？’ They’re always grateful. That’s what you do it for，” he says.

In 2014， Lepelaar and his colleague Olaf Exoo took Mario， a 54-year-old man with learning difficulties， to say a final goodbye to his colleagues at Rotterdam Zoo， where he had worked for 25 years. At the end of his shift as a maintenance man he used to always visit the animals， and they took him on his rounds one last time.

When they reached the giraffe 13）enclosure they were invited in， and it was then that one of the more curious giraffes came over and gave Mario a lick on the face. He was too ill to speak， but his face lit up， says Exoo， whose photograph of the “giraffe’s kiss” made headlines.

“It’s intense， but that’s why it’s interesting，” says Mirjam Lok， a 25-year-old nurse. “You don’t know who you’ll meet when you walk through the door， and at the end of the day you have fulfilled their last wish， you close the door and you think—that was good.”

Following the huge success of his venture， Veldboer has helped to set up similar ambulance services abroad， first in Israel—after taking a Jewish woman to Jerusalem， where she wanted to die—then in Belgium， Germany and Sweden.

A practical， no-nonsense man， he admits that setting up the foundation has given him confidence. “I used to think I didn’t amount to much， but then I discovered my ideas aren’t that bad after all. I’ve learned that if you follow your heart and do things your own way， people will support you.”

“I’m just a very ordinary Dutch guy who does what he likes best， and my hobby is helping others.”

“我了解到將死之人的心里都有一些小小的心愿。”凱斯·韋德波爾說，他就是那個(gè)成立了“救護(hù)車許愿基金會(huì)”的救護(hù)車司機(jī)。

2006年11月，他當(dāng)時(shí)正準(zhǔn)備把一位重病晚期病人馬里奧·斯特法努托轉(zhuǎn)移到另一間醫(yī)院。但正當(dāng)他們把病人抬到擔(dān)架上時(shí)，他們被告知轉(zhuǎn)移工作將會(huì)延遲——接收醫(yī)院還沒準(zhǔn)備好。斯特法努托不想再回到病床上，他之前已經(jīng)在那里躺了三個(gè)月，所以韋德波爾問他有沒有什么想去的地方。

這位退休的水手問他們可否帶他去符拉爾丁根運(yùn)河，這樣他就能在岸邊與鹿特丹海港作最后的道別。那是個(gè)陽(yáng)光明媚的日子，他們?cè)诖a頭邊上待了將近一個(gè)小時(shí)?！靶牢康臏I水劃過他的臉龐?！表f德波爾說道?！拔覇査骸阆Ｍ袡C(jī)會(huì)再次航海嗎？’他說那是不可能的，因?yàn)樗稍趽?dān)架上。”

韋德波爾決心要幫助這個(gè)男人實(shí)現(xiàn)最后的愿望。于是他問上司，他可否在放假時(shí)借用一輛救護(hù)車，請(qǐng)來一位同事幫忙，并聯(lián)系一家提供游覽鹿特丹海港服務(wù)的游船公司——他們都很樂意提供幫助。所以在接下來的星期五，斯特法努托大吃一驚，因?yàn)轫f德波爾這位救護(hù)車司機(jī)出現(xiàn)在他的病床邊，說要帶他去航海。

這就是“救護(hù)車許愿基金會(huì)”成立的起源。八年前，韋德波爾和他那位當(dāng)護(hù)士的妻子伊奈可在廚房的餐桌上談起要建立這個(gè)基金會(huì)。如今，該基金會(huì)已經(jīng)擁有230名志愿者，六臺(tái)救護(hù)車以及一間假日別墅。此外，該基金會(huì)已經(jīng)幫助病患實(shí)現(xiàn)將近7000個(gè)愿望?！熬茸o(hù)車許愿基金會(huì)”一天平均幫助四個(gè)人實(shí)現(xiàn)愿望——受助者的年齡不限，唯一的條件是他們必須是絕癥病人，且只能通過擔(dān)架才可行動(dòng)。

雖然許多慈善機(jī)構(gòu)都會(huì)給絕癥病人提供一天的外出時(shí)間，但是“救護(hù)車許愿基金會(huì)”卻是第一個(gè)給病人提供救護(hù)車以及全面的醫(yī)療支持的慈善機(jī)構(gòu)。病人身邊總有一位訓(xùn)練有素的護(hù)士在一旁陪同，司機(jī)大多是專業(yè)的警察和消防隊(duì)員。專門設(shè)計(jì)的救護(hù)車可以讓病人看到車外的景象，每個(gè)病人都會(huì)收到一只叫馬里奧的泰迪熊，是以斯特法努托的名字命名的。

“看到人們心滿意足的樣子，我們志愿者心里也有很大的成就感。”羅埃爾·弗朋說道。他以前是一名軍人，現(xiàn)在是基金會(huì)的司機(jī)。在過去的六年里，他已經(jīng)幫助人們實(shí)現(xiàn)了300個(gè)愿望。

有一次，他去到遙遠(yuǎn)的羅馬尼亞，往返路程為4500公里。那次行程是為了幫助一名叫娜蒂爾的女人，她在荷蘭居住了12年。她的兩個(gè)孩子，一個(gè)三歲，一個(gè)七歲，已經(jīng)回去羅馬尼亞和她家人住在一起。她想回到那兒，在那兒死去。

“她病得很嚴(yán)重，我們甚至不能觸碰她?！备ヅ笳f道。他們?cè)谝粋€(gè)星期四的早上出發(fā)，但當(dāng)他們開車穿過德國(guó)時(shí)，娜蒂爾的病情惡化了，所以他們停在一家醫(yī)院里。醫(yī)生建議娜蒂爾留在醫(yī)院里，但她想見見自己的孩子們——而她的心愿才是最重要的。在耽擱了三個(gè)小時(shí)后，他們繼續(xù)上路，他們穿過了奧地利和匈牙利——當(dāng)他們到達(dá)羅馬尼亞的邊境時(shí)，娜蒂爾說：“把擔(dān)架拿開，我現(xiàn)在可以死去了！”

弗朋對(duì)她說：“只要再多走600公里，你就能回到你媽媽和孩子身邊了——你能再堅(jiān)持多一會(huì)兒?jiǎn)?？”救護(hù)車在星期六到達(dá)了布加勒斯特，他們迎來了一次激動(dòng)人心的團(tuán)聚。然后救護(hù)車隊(duì)就揮別了娜蒂爾，開車駛回荷蘭。兩周后，她的家人寄來一張卡片，說她去世了。

“如果人們知道我們要來，他們就會(huì)有新的動(dòng)力?！备ヅ笳f?！安∪说募覍俳?jīng)常跟我們說他們快要取消申請(qǐng)了，因?yàn)椴∪说那闆r已經(jīng)很嚴(yán)重，但當(dāng)我們來到時(shí)，他們都很開心，已經(jīng)為他們的外出做好準(zhǔn)備。”

諾特是一名鄉(xiāng)村巡回護(hù)士。她初次邂逅“救護(hù)車許愿基金會(huì)”是因?yàn)橐晃慌c她關(guān)系親密的癌癥病人，那位病人邀請(qǐng)她同行。那次的經(jīng)歷讓諾特很激動(dòng)，于是她給韋德波爾寫信，表示她愿意提供志愿服務(wù)。

“每一次的經(jīng)歷都很特別。你與同事在回家的路上討論，無論整件事多么微不足道，給人的感受總是很特別?！敝Z特說?！拔乙娺^一位女士，她的心愿只是要一杯家鄉(xiāng)的蛋黃酒（一種強(qiáng)烈的雞蛋酒精飲料）。所以她兒子買了一瓶回來，我們?nèi)サ剿募?，她把蛋黃酒打開，然后我們就回去了。那是她的心愿?！?/p>

“人們問：‘這種工作不累嗎？不難受嗎？總要接觸別人的遺愿？”是的，確實(shí)如此，但對(duì)于那些早已病入膏肓，不抱希望的人們，我們能在這個(gè)時(shí)候給予他們真正想要的東西，很棒?！彼f道。

法蘭斯·萊帕勒以前是一名警察，現(xiàn)在是基金會(huì)的司機(jī)。之前的20年他都是坐在辦公桌前調(diào)查詐騙案，現(xiàn)在，他想面對(duì)面地幫助人們。

“也許要花上漫長(zhǎng)的一天——你可能要在午夜才能回家。我們總會(huì)這樣問：‘你還有什么心愿嗎？’他們總是很感激。這就是你參加這種工作的動(dòng)力?！彼f道。

2014年，萊帕勒和他的同事奧拉夫·亞克斯歐護(hù)送馬里奧回去鹿特丹動(dòng)物園與他的同事作最后的道別。馬里奧當(dāng)時(shí)54歲，患有學(xué)習(xí)障礙癥，他已經(jīng)在鹿特丹動(dòng)物園工作了25年。在他當(dāng)維修員的最后那些日子里，他常常去看望動(dòng)物們。而在他最后一次看望它們時(shí)，它們圍在了他的身邊。

當(dāng)他們到達(dá)長(zhǎng)頸鹿生活區(qū)時(shí)，他們受到了長(zhǎng)頸鹿群的邀請(qǐng)，就在那時(shí)，一頭更具好奇心的長(zhǎng)頸鹿走了過來，舔了舔馬里奧的臉。他病得太嚴(yán)重了，無法開口說話，但他把臉抬了起來，據(jù)亞克斯歐說。亞克斯歐拍的照片“長(zhǎng)頸鹿的吻別”成為了頭條新聞。

“這讓人很緊張，但這正是這份工作的有趣之處?！泵桌騺喣贰ぢ蹇苏f道，她25歲，是一名護(hù)士?！澳悴恢雷哌M(jìn)門后會(huì)遇到誰(shuí)，而在一天結(jié)束后，你已經(jīng)幫助他們實(shí)現(xiàn)了心愿，你關(guān)上房門，想到——那真棒?！?/p>

繼“救護(hù)車許愿基金會(huì)”在荷蘭取得巨大成功后，韋德波爾又在國(guó)外幫助成立了類似的救護(hù)車服務(wù)，首先是在以色列——在幫助護(hù)送一位猶太女人去耶路撒冷后，她想在那里結(jié)束自己的生命旅程——然后是比利時(shí)，德國(guó)和瑞典。

韋德波爾是一個(gè)實(shí)際而理智的人，他承認(rèn)成立這個(gè)基金會(huì)給予了他信心?！拔以?jīng)以為自己無所作為，但后來我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的想法并沒有那么糟糕。我認(rèn)識(shí)到如果你跟隨自己的心，做自己想做的事，別人也會(huì)支持你的。”

“我只是一個(gè)很普通的荷蘭人，我只是在做自己最喜歡做的事，我的愛好就是幫助別人?！?/p>