Reach out to heaven: a paramedic fulfills the last wishes of terminally ill people

The coronavirus and its associated crisis continue to spread steadily around the world, with thousands of people forced to die alone, forcibly separated from their heartbroken families.

But 60-year-old Dutch ambulance driver Kees Veldboer, who helped fulfill the last wish of more than 14 thousand terminally ill dying patients, was able to continue his work, despite the fact that his country also imposed a quarantine, although not as strict.

A retired paramedic was able to take hundreds of dying people with him on their final journey, thanks to the fact that in March the Netherlands adopted less stringent measures to combat the coronavirus than other European countries.

Veldbur, the founder of Stichting Ambulance Wens, takes patients to places they would like to visit for the last time before they go to the other world.

Among those he recently helped is a man who was able to say goodbye to his horse, as well as a man who wished to see his beloved boat for the last time. There were also patients who expressed a desire to see the blooming tulips for the last time.

The Dutch government, led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, introduced what they called a "reasonable quarantine". In this case, it was necessary to close only those businesses that directly contact their customers, for example, hairdressers and beauty salons.

And although people are advised to stay at home, it is still possible to go out if residents keep a distance of at least 1.5 meters from each other. This means that Veldbur can easily take people out into the open to fulfill their last wishes.

Veldbourg added that he was heading to southern Spain later this week to pick up a terminally ill Dutchman who had been hospitalized in that country.

The retired paramedic came up with this idea when he was transferring a terminally ill patient to another hospital. While on the road, he asked the patient where he would like to go, and he was told that he would like to see the Port of Rotterdam for the last time. Veldburu even managed to arrange for a person to be able to go directly on a stretcher on his last voyage.

A year later, Veldbur founded his foundation, after which he was able to deliver terminally ill people to weddings, museums, galleries, car dealerships, football matches and stables. With the help of his 61-year-old wife, Ineke, the man made this good deed his work.