A pair of paramedics have been praised for their heartwarming gesture when they took a patient to the ocean so they could enjoy the view one last time.
Neil King, a local man, was at the Cleveland Point Lighthouse, southeast of Brisbane, when he witnessed the paramedics wheeling the patient’s bed to the water’s edge.
He was moved by their compassion and posted a photo of them on Facebook on Saturday.
Two paramedics (pictured) from the Queensland Ambulance Service have been praised for their compassion in granting a patient’s wish to see the ocean.
The photo of the two paramedics standing beside the patient’s hospital bed has gone viral, with nearly 800 shares, 17,000 likes, and 500 comments.
‘So grateful to our front-line workers serving so kindly’, Mr. King wrote. ‘Thank you, Queensland Ambulance Service. You are amazing’.
The gesture was amazing, but the kind words and lovely conversation they shared were even more so.
Neil King shared a touching tribute (pictured) to the paramedics on Facebook.
Facebook users were touched by the photo, with one saying they had ‘goosebumps at such a beautiful photo’. Others said it restored their faith in humanity after a hard year. ‘Not all superheroes wear capes’, one comment read.
‘Last visit to the ocean, I’d say. Beautiful souls for allowing this wish to come true’, another commented.
The Queensland Ambulance Service also shared the photo on their Facebook page, saying, ‘Some words of gratitude regarding a beautiful simple gesture by our amazing staff are worth sharing’.
A spokesperson from the Queensland Ambulance Service told Daily Mail Australia that ‘it was a wonderful moment for a member of the public to capture’, but couldn’t give more details due to patient confidentiality.
This is not the first time that Queensland paramedics have granted a patient’s dying wish.
In November 2017, two paramedics, Graeme and Danielle, took a patient to the beach at Hervey Bay, a coastal town in Queensland.
Queensland paramedic Graeme (pictured) and his colleague Danielle took a patient to see the ocean at Hervey Bay in 2017 after she expressed that it was her dying wish.
‘A crew was transporting a patient to the palliative care unit of the local hospital, and the patient expressed that she just wished she could be at the beach again,’ Helen Donaldson, the officer in charge of Hervey Bay, said.
‘Above and beyond, the crew took a small diversion to the awesome beach at Hervey Bay to give the patient this opportunity.
‘Tears were shed, and the patient felt very happy.
‘Sometimes it is not the drugs, training, or skills; sometimes all you need is empathy to make a difference.’
Michael Augustus, a spokesman from the Queensland Ambulance Service, told Daily Mail Australia in 2017 that the service was ‘blown away by the response’.
‘It’s so lovely that a really simple act of kindness, something that the paramedics just did, made this lady’s day,’ Mr. Augustus said.
‘It cost them nothing but five minutes of their time.’
‘These paramedics certainly deserve some recognition, but we’ve just been gobsmacked by the support.’