An emotional Chris Shaw was granted his dying wish - to see his beloved Burns Beach in Perth one last time. Photo / Facebook
An emotional Chris Shaw was granted his dying wish - to see his beloved Burns Beach in Perth one last time. Photo / Facebook
Chris Shaw was battling stomach cancer for 14 months before he died on August 31 last year.
While he was being driven home from the hospital to die, the Perth father had one final wish — he wanted to see the ocean one last time.
In a beautiful act of kindness, the paramedics transporting Mr Shaw detoured to his beloved Burns Beach so he could "feel the sun and breeze on his body".
The 45-year-old's life was overcome with emotion in the moment, his tears shared by wife Kylie — who was right by his side.
An emotional Chris Shaw was granted his dying wish - to see his beloved Burns Beach in Perth one last time. Photo / Facebook
He left behind four children, Emily, 11, Ruby, 9, and six-year-old twins Charlotte and Isaac.
One year on, the moment still means a lot to the grieving family and to mark the anniversary of his death, Kylie shared an image of the kind act that meant the world to her dying husband.
She said she would never forget the heart-warning gesture of the two St John Ambulance transport officers, Jade McGlew and Jesse Roulston, who made Chris' last wish come true.
They were on their way home to Currambine, a northern suburb of Perth, so he could spend his final days at home.
But Kylie asked the officers if they could take a detour to the beach so her husband could "feel normal at his favourite beach for 20 minutes".
"We're an ocean family and this is our favourite beach. It was the tiniest gesture but it meant the world," Kylie told The West Australian.
The father-of-four died last year on August 31 after he lost his 14-month battle with an aggressive stomach cancer. Photo / Facebook
"They were our angels for the day. They really did become our angels, and for that we'll be eternally grateful.
"Seeing the ocean. feeling the sun … the breeze … endless … you would be able to feel … nothing would ever be able to replace that … ever."
The ambulance officers met with the Shaw family at Burns Beach to mark the one-year anniversary.
"Seeing the family again has really come back and shown us how important it was to them. I'm very grateful that we were apart of it," ambulance officer Jade said.
Chris was diagnosed with the aggressive stomach cancer in June 2017 after he experienced a cough and reflux.
He was in remission for a brief period but the cancer returned and spread to his lymph nodes and bones. He was gone just six weeks later.
He left behind wife Kylie and four children Emily, 11, Ruby, nine, and six-year-old twins Charlotte and Isaac. Photo / Facebook
"We spent so many family moments at that beach. We'd sit down and have a Corona, the kids would run around and we'd watch the sun set," Kylie told the publication.
She has been advocating to increase awareness about stomach cancer — she wrote on Facebook it was part of her husband's "bucket list" of things he wanted her to carry out for him and the kids before passing.
