Royal honour for paramedics who granted dying patient's last wish
Two Hervey Bay paramedics who granted a dying patient’s wish to see the ocean one last time have caught the attention of Kensington Palace.
They’ve been chosen as special guests at a lunch on Fraser Island when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit next week.
Graeme Cooper and Danielle Kellam were taking a palliative care patient to hospital for the final time last November.
On the way the woman expressed her love for the beach, so in a spur of the moment decision, the paramedics pulled over to give her one last look.
“She loved it didn’t she, she was really happy, she was so grateful, just one of those people you wanted to give and give to.”
Such a simple gesture, but one that gave a dying woman such joy.
“If you can do something special for them, even though their life is coming to an end, it can give them fulfilment, and that fulfilment is a blessing for us to be able to give.”
The touching moment was shared online by the QAS and it quickly became the most popular social media post in their history.
“It was no mean feat just to stop and give her one last pleasure in life, because at the end of the day, this lady was going home to die.”
The photo came to the attention of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
And suddenly Kensington Palace was on the phone to the Hervey Bay officer in charge.
“She says Prince Harry and Meghan want to meet you, and I’ve gone, ‘unbelievable, is this real, pinch me for goodness sake’,” Mr Cooper added.
Graeme and Danielle will now travel to Fraser Island to meet the Royal Newlyweds on October 22.
Earlier this week, a Sunshine Coast mother was brought to tears when she came across a kind-hearted nurse who had wheeled out an elderly patient to take in some sunlight.
Courtenay Noble was recovering from a burst appendix in Sunshine Coast Hospital last week when she came across a young nurse taking a moment out of her day to sit and converse with an elderly bed-ridden patient.
“This nurse, she would have been no older than 25, walked in and pushed her bed down the end of the corridor. She just parked it there, pulled up a chair sat down and held her hand,” Ms Noble told Yahoo7 News.
“It just blew me away, I just stood there in awe for a minute taking it all in.”
