Ambulance Service paramedic Graeme Cooper took a terminally ill patient to the seaside on her "final journey" to palliative care. Photo / Danielle Kellan
It's a photo reminiscent of the tear-jerker closing scenes in movie classic Beaches but for an ambulance crew and a terminal patient the heartwarming moment they shared was completely unscripted.
The image of Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedic Graeme Cooper standing next to a patient lying on a gurney on a Hervey Bay beach has started to go viral after the touching story behind it was revealed by the organisation today.
Hervey Bay officer-in-charge Helen Donaldson said a crew was taking a patient to the palliative care unit of the local hospital when the woman wished out loud that she could "just be at the beach" instead.
"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," Donaldson said.
The moment was captured by paramedic Danielle Kellan in a moving image that was posted to the organisation's Facebook page and has started to go viral with thousands of "likes" in just a few hours.
Cooper today told reporters the patient was on "her last journey back to [palliative care] where she was going basically to pass away".
"We popped her up on the hill where she could see the pier and Fraser Island and right through to Pt Burrum and she was ecstatic with it all," he said.
"I thought if all these rocks weren't here I'd get down into my jocks and take you into the ocean ... and I would have ... however I thought the next best thing was I can get some ocean and bring it to her.
Cooper said he sought permission from superiors before taking the patient out of the ambulance.
"In special cases where end-of-life stuff is going on, the contact we have is our last contact. [We want to] feel good about humans and people and the way they're treated and managed so they get a good feeling," Cooper said.
"It's always someone else's father, mother, brother. If I lose my compassion I just won't be in the job.
"We're very fortunate we're in the role we do. If you're sensitive to your surroundings, when a window of opportunity opens up, take it."
A QAS spokesperson wrote in a Facebook post that "sometimes it is not the drugs/training/skills — sometimes all you need is empathy to make a difference".
"Great work Hervey Bay team Danielle & Graeme the Service is very proud of you," the post read.
Social media users praised the crew for their compassion.
"So beautiful gave me goosebumps x it's amazing what a random act of kindness does x well done to these and other ambos doing amazing things everyday," one Facebook user wrote.
Another said: "Oh love you guys! Constantly dealing with situations the rest of us can't imagine! Thank you and keep up the good work."
Kellan told reporters she took the photo because it "was the epitome of Graeme" who has also made stops for nursing home patients so they can "roll the sheets back, feel the sun on their skin" and smell flowers the paramedic picks for them.
"I said to the patient [at Fraser Island]: 'What are you thinking?'," Kellan said.
"And she said: 'I'm at peace, everything is right'."