When people know their time is short, their wishes tend to become very simple. Few ask for money or fame. Most ask for one more evening with someone they love, one more visit from a dog or a horse, a chance to see a child graduate or marry, or a last look at the sea. The 36 moments below, shared by families, hospitals, charities and local newspapers between roughly 2007 and 2017, show what those wishes looked like in real life.
Some were granted by organised charities, such as the Dutch Ambulance Wish Foundation (Stichting Ambulance Wens), whose volunteers drive bedridden patients to the places they want to see. Others were arranged by nurses, neighbours, universities, zoos, a tattoo artist and even a famous actress. Many were simply small kindnesses inside a family, like a grandson bringing in a favourite beer.
We have grouped the stories by theme and added what is known about each one. Where names or details could not be confirmed, we say so. The photo at the top shows Mario, a terminally ill zoo worker in Rotterdam, receiving a farewell nuzzle from one of the giraffes he had looked after; his story appears further down. A word of warning: several of these involve children and are hard to read without tears.
Love notes, last dances and final goodbyes
Elena's hidden notes
Photo: That’s a Good Idea
Elena Desserich of Cincinnati was five when she was diagnosed with an aggressive, inoperable brain tumour, and she died in 2007, aged six. In her final months she quietly tucked drawings and little love notes into books, drawers and bags around the house. Her parents, Keith and Brooke, kept finding them for years afterwards and later published them in the book Notes Left Behind.
Grandpa's last beer
Photo: ksmitttyy
A week before his grandfather died, an Imgur user brought his favourite beer into the nursing home. The black-and-white photo of the old man in his wheelchair, bottle raised by the window, became one of the most shared images of the series. It is a reminder that comfort at the end of life is often about familiar pleasures, not grand gestures.
One last dance after 15 years of illness
Photo: FartfordEggplant
A woman who had lived with cancer for about 15 years shares a slow dance with her husband in their bedroom, the night before she died. Their child took the picture and later posted it online. Nothing in the frame is staged; it is simply two people holding on to each other.
Married 75 years, parted for only a day
Photo: 10news.com
Alexander and Jeanette Toczko of San Diego had known each other since childhood and were married for 75 years. In June 2015, at 95 and 96, they were in hospice care together. Alexander died in Jeanette's arms, and Jeanette died roughly a day later, as both had hoped. Their family's photo of the couple sharing a bed was covered by local station 10News and spread worldwide.
Father and son, side by side in hospital
Photo: Caller-Times
In Corpus Christi, Texas, a man undergoing cancer treatment was moved into the same hospital room as his dying father so the two could be together. The Caller-Times photographed them holding hands across the gap between their beds. Hospitals rarely do this, which is why staff who bend the rules for families are remembered for years.
A rose every day
Photo: funeralfund.blogspot.lt
The comedian Jack Benny died of pancreatic cancer in December 1974. Afterwards, his widow, Mary Livingstone, began receiving a single long-stemmed red rose every day. Benny had quietly arranged it with a florist, reportedly through a provision in his will, so that the roses would keep coming for the rest of her life. She died in 1983.
Visiting a daughter's grave
Photo: Stichting Ambulance Wens
An elderly Dutch man, too ill to travel on his own, wanted to stand at his daughter's grave once more. Volunteers from the Ambulance Wish Foundation drove him there on a stretcher, with a teddy bear and flowers. Grief for a child never really ends, and this visit let him say goodbye properly.
101 years apart
Photo: Sarah Hamm
Rosa Camfield of Iowa, 101, cradles her newborn great-granddaughter Kaylee in January 2015. The photo was taken by Sarah Hamm, a relative, and Rosa died only days later. It became a widely shared image of how four generations can overlap for just a moment.
One more moment with a beloved animal
Oliver the cat
Photo: stopdropanddrumroll
A grandmother in hospital asked to see her cat, Oliver, and the hospital allowed the visit. The photo, posted on Reddit's r/aww by her grandchild, shows her resting with the ginger cat curled against her. Many hospitals and hospices now have pet visiting policies because patients often ask for their animals before anything else.
A home for Baby
Photo: honesttopaws
A homeless man learned he had only weeks left to live, and his single wish was that someone would adopt his dog, Baby. The animal welfare page honesttopaws shared his plea, and a family stepped forward. The final picture shows Baby out walking with her new people, safe and cared for.
Mario and the giraffes
Photo: Stichting Ambulance Wens
Mario, 54, had worked for about 25 years as a maintenance man at Rotterdam's Blijdorp Zoo. When he was dying of cancer in 2014, the Ambulance Wish Foundation wheeled his bed to the giraffe enclosure he used to clean. One giraffe leaned down and pressed its face to his, a moment that zoo staff and volunteers said moved everyone present.
Horses outside a veterans' hospital
Photo: KENS 5 & Kens5
Roberto Gonzales, a Vietnam veteran in San Antonio, asked to see his horses one last time. Staff wheeled his hospital bed outside, and one of the horses lowered its head to his face, as San Antonio station KENS 5 reported in 2015. He died soon afterwards, surrounded by family.
Kittens for a hospice patient
Photo: Great Plains SPCA
A woman in hospice care told staff she wanted to hold some kittens, and the Great Plains SPCA in the Kansas City area brought a basket of them to her room. The video shows her laughing as they crawl over her blanket. Animal-assisted visits like this are common in hospices because they ease stress and bring a moment of play.
A dog on the hospital bed
Another homeless man, close to death, wanted to see his dog once more. The dog was brought in and stretched out on the bed beside him, then pressed its nose to his face. The original source of these pictures is not known, so the man's name and location are unconfirmed.
James and Bubba
Photo: thetimestribune
James Wathen of Kentucky was reunited with his small dog Bubba shortly before he died in late 2014. Bubba had been staying with others while James was in hospital. The Times-Tribune in Corbin reported the reunion, and the photo of Bubba tucked under his chin says more than any caption could.
Milestones they did not want to miss
Walking his daughter down the aisle early
Photo: today.com
Jim Grant of Pennsylvania knew he would not live to see his 11-year-old daughter Josie marry. In 2013 a photographer and friends staged a small "wedding walk" so he could escort her in a white dress and share a father-daughter dance. Josie would have the photos for her real wedding day, years later.
Finding a family for his son
Photo: Rose family
A British single father with terminal cancer spent his final months searching for a foster family who would raise his four-year-old son. He met the couple, got to know them, and saw his boy settle in before he died. The Daily Mail reported the story in January 2017; it is one of the hardest and most selfless wishes in this list.
Meeting a newborn sister
Photo: Stichting Ambulance Wens
A seriously ill boy, wearing an oxygen line, asked to go home once more to hold his new baby sister. The Ambulance Wish Foundation drove him there. The photo of him smiling down at her shows a big brother meeting a sibling he would not see grow up.
A father at his son's graduation
Photo: WBRC
In Alabama, a father with terminal illness was determined to see his son graduate from high school. He attended in a wheelchair, with oxygen, and his son came down from the stage to hug him. Birmingham station WBRC covered the 2014 ceremony.
Texas A&M brings the ceremony home
Photo: Jay Janner
A Texas A&M graduate dying of cancer could not attend his daughter's graduation from his old university. So university officials, in full academic robes, held a small ceremony in front of the family home. Photographer Jay Janner captured the father wrapping his daughter in a hug.
Scans of a grandchild not yet born
Photo: Stichting Ambulance Wens
A terminally ill Dutch woman wanted to see the ultrasound pictures of her unborn grandchild at the hospital. The Ambulance Wish Foundation arranged the trip. Holding the scan prints, she had a glimpse of a family future she knew she would miss.
A five-year-old's "wedding"
Photo: WFAA
A five-year-old Texas girl with cystic fibrosis wanted to marry her best friend, a boy her own age. Family and hospital staff arranged a pretend ceremony, complete with a dress, flowers and toy rings, and she died within hours, as Dallas station WFAA reported. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition that damages the lungs; treatment has improved enormously, but it still shortens many lives.
One last adventure
The ocean, one more time
Before moving into hospice care, a grandmother asked to see the Pacific again. Her family took her to a beach, which appears to be in southern California, and wheeled her right into the surf in a beach chair. Her laugh says everything.
Back in the saddle at 87
Photo: hidden desires
A former show jumper, aged 87 and living with Parkinson's disease, wanted to ride once more. Using a hoist and a specially prepared saddle frame, helpers lifted her onto a horse at a stable. The final shot of her laughing is the reason people still share this one.
Reunited with a Spitfire
Photo: Helen Nock
A Second World War veteran who had worked on aircraft was spotted watching vintage planes from his wheelchair behind an airfield fence. Staff invited him in, and he was photographed beside a Spitfire with its pilots. The Spitfire, Britain's famous fighter plane of the Battle of Britain, means a great deal to that generation.
A skydive for an Air Force veteran
Photo: Kindred Gentiva Hospice Foundation
A terminally ill US Air Force veteran told his hospice team that he wanted to skydive. Through the Kindred Gentiva Hospice Foundation's last-wish programme, he made a tandem jump with an instructor. The photo of him giving a thumbs-up in free fall shows how much one wish can mean.
A "tattoo" drawn in marker
Photo: frrrkguys
A 12-year-old boy in Brazil with cancer wanted a tattoo, which is not possible at his age or in his condition. A tattoo artist from Minas Gerais visited him in hospital and drew a full-colour sleeve on his arm with markers, complete with his name, Victor. Brazilian site frrrkguys reported the story.
Florence Welch sings at the bedside
Photo: Cat Chen
Singer Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine visited a young fan in hospital and sang for her, accompanied by a guitarist. The footage was posted on YouTube under the name Cat Chen. A short acoustic song, in a room full of cards and balloons, turned a hospital day into something she would treasure.
Meeting a prince and princess
Photo: tiggerhops
A three-year-old girl wanted to meet a real prince and princess. Volunteers dressed in full fairy-tale costume, crown and tiara included, came to spend time with her. The family shared the photo on Imgur.
Tea with "the Queen"
Photo: nctlctrust , nctlctrust
A 10-year-old British boy with a terminal illness wished the Queen would come to tea. Actress Helen Mirren, who was playing Elizabeth II on the London stage in 2013, came instead, in full costume. She also gave him an honorary "knighthood". The visit was arranged with a children's charity that shared the photos.
Wishes that reached far beyond themselves
A boy's wish to save his mother
Photo: Daily Mail
In 2014 a seven-year-old boy in China, dying of a brain tumour, reportedly asked doctors to give his kidney to his mother, who was seriously ill with kidney disease. The Daily Mail and Chinese media covered the story with photos of mother and son sharing a hospital bed. Details of what happened to the donation were reported differently at the time, so treat them with some caution.
Tijn's painted nails
Photo: 3fm
Tijn Kolsteren, a six-year-old Dutch boy with an incurable brain tumour, wanted to help other children. During the radio station 3FM's Serious Request charity week in December 2016, he painted people's nails for donations to fight child deaths from pneumonia. His "Lak aan" campaign raised more than 2.6 million euros. Tijn died in 2017.
Christmas in October
Photo: Michelle Fadel
A North Carolina woman with terminal cancer did not expect to live until December. Her neighbours put up lights, wreaths and decorations in October so she could enjoy one more Christmas season. People magazine reported it, with photos by Michelle Fadel.
A last lesson from a hospital bed
A music teacher, gravely ill, asked his students to come to the hospital so he could pass on what he knew one final time. The images show them gathered around his bed, some in tears. We could not confirm the teacher's name or country, so this one remains unverified.
Thousands of carolers
Photo: Ben Hasty
An eight-year-old girl with terminal cancer in Pennsylvania loved Christmas carols. In December 2014, thousands of people gathered outside her home to sing to her, as photographer Ben Hasty captured and the Los Angeles Times shared. She gave a double thumbs-up from her bed.
An honorary Marine
Photo: The Mendleton Foundation , The Mendleton Foundation
Wyatt Gillette, the young son of a Marine Corps drill instructor in California, was seriously ill. In 2015 Marines made him an honorary member of the Corps, in uniform and in front of the ranks, the day before he died. The Mendleton Foundation, which supports families of children with life-threatening conditions, shared the photos.
How last wishes are granted, and what they teach the rest of us
Several of these stories come from the Ambulance Wish Foundation, set up in the Netherlands in 2007 by ambulance driver Kees Veldboer after he helped a dying patient make one last trip. Its volunteers, many of them nurses and paramedics, use specially equipped ambulances to take bedridden people to a beach, a stadium, a zoo or a family home. Similar projects now exist in other countries.
For children, Make-A-Wish is the best-known organisation. It began in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1980, when a seven-year-old boy with leukaemia, Chris Greicius, was made an honorary police officer. Hospices and hospital social workers also arrange smaller wishes every day, usually without any publicity.
What stands out is how ordinary most wishes are. The Australian palliative care worker Bronnie Ware, who wrote The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, found that her patients rarely talked about possessions. They talked about family, friendship, honesty and allowing themselves to be happy. The photos above say the same thing.
A practical lesson follows. Many families only learn what a dying relative wants when it is almost too late. Hospice teams encourage people to talk early about what matters to them, where they would like to be, and who they want around them. If someone you love is seriously ill, ask them, and talk to their doctor or care team about what is possible. A beer, a dog on the bed or a trip to the sea is often easier to arrange than people think.
Sources: Photos and reports credited under each image; compilation first published by Bored Panda; Notes Left Behind (Elena Desserich); 3FM Serious Request: Lak aan (Tijn); Wikipedia: Jack Benny; Stichting Ambulance Wens; Make-A-Wish.
fuck off you fuckin scum. shame on you
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