Brighten Your Day

Paramedics Take Dying Woman On Final Trip To The Beach

July 6, 2023

Two paramedics in Wauchope, Australia, went above and beyond their call of duty to fulfill the last wish of a palliative care patient.

Dave and Ray / Credit: NSW Ambulance

Paramedics Dave Moran and Ray Smythe picked up 85-year-old Mavis from her home this week and planned to drop her straight off at a palliative care unit.

But when she started talking about meeting her husband of 65 years at the beach and how it was "the happiest moment of her life", they decided to take a detour.

"She mentioned her and Ron had met on Clovelly Beach, and Dave piped up from the front seat and said 'do you want to go via the beach?'," Ray said.

Credit: NSW Ambulance

So, Dave and Ray drove to Flynns Beach in Port Macquarie where they pulled the stretcher out and the trio sat gazing out over the ocean, spotting a passing whale.

They stayed at the beach for about half an hour before heading to the palliative care unit.

Credit: NSW Ambulance

"She grabbed my hand once back in the van and kept thanking us. We really gelled with her," Ray said.

Mavis passed away the next day.

"That was a shock to us," Ray said. "But she told us in the car she was ready to go."

The pair said it was a "humbling experience" to have given Mavis the peaceful send-off she wanted.

"Her last journey was a lovely one. She could enjoy the whales breaching, the breeze and the water," Dave said.