FORMER FOREST RANGER’S DYING WISH GRANTED BY SEATTLE HOSPICE

A reverence for our dead relatives and ancestors is a tradition that has been passed down to us from the dawn of humanity. However, we seem to be quickly losing our traditional reverence for the old and dying. However, one hospice outside of Seattle is doing what it can to respect the last wishes of those in its care.

Evergreen Hospice heard the wishes of a dying forest ranger for whom they were caring loud and clear, despite his waning voice. They recently shared on their Facebook page that this man, whom they referred to only as ‘Ed,’ had expressed his last wishes to the hospice chaplain. One of these apparently was that he wished to experience nature one last time.

Ed was a former forest ranger, and missed seeing the outdoors in his waning years, according to Chaplain Curt Huber. Ed expressed to Huber that he had once lived for the outdoors. Due to the nature of Ed’s illness and the difficulty transporting him, help from the Snohomish County Fire District in nearby Edmonds was requested, and a final trip to nearby Meadowdale Beach Park was arranged. He was transported in an EMS vehicle, and firefighters followed in a fire truck. It was Ed’s first trip to his beloved untouched nature in years.

From the Facebook post: “Together, the group took Ed up and down the trails, bringing him the scents of the forest by touching the fragrant growth and bringing their hands close to Ed’s face. Ed was delighted. So were all the professionals who accompanied him.”

“People sometimes think that working in hospice care is depressing. This story demonstrates the depths of the rewards that caring for the dying can bring,” added program manager Diane Fiumara, BSN.