Planting the seed of the Ambulance Wish Foundation

This is how the Ambulance Wish Foundation was founded

Kees Veldboer Sr. worked as an ambulance driver for the Rotterdam-Rijnmond ambulance service. On a quiet workday in November 2006, he and his colleague Linda were en route to the Schiedam/Vlaardingen station. On their way, they received a call that they had been assigned to a patient transport from the Holy Hospital to the Dijkzigt/Erasmus Hospital in Rotterdam. A patient needed pain relief there.

That patient turned out to be the terminally ill Mario Stefanutto. Linda and Kees placed him on a stretcher, and just as they were rolling him out of the ward, they received a call from Erasmus Hospital that the treatment had been postponed until later that day. The patient could return to his bed for the time being. But Mario strongly disagreed.

The day before, his pain treatment had also been postponed and subsequently cancelled. "Just take me to Erasmus and put me down there. Then I'll at least know for sure they'll help me sometime today," he said.

Kees's colleague Linda had a better idea. "You're on the stretcher now, and we're having a very quiet day. Just tell us where you want to go." It was something Kees and Linda often did when things were quiet and there seemed to be an opportunity to give a seriously ill patient a little boost.

But Mario thought he was being pranked and wanted to play along: "Oh, then we'll go have a beer in Hoek van Holland," he said. Kees replied that, considering the end time of their shift, that would be a bit tight. Linda asked if he wanted to have a cup of coffee at his wife's house, but it turned out she was at work.

Then she asked if the harbor pier in Vlaardingen would also be a good destination. Mario, accompanied by his son Roy, seemed surprised. Only then did he realize it was all meant very seriously. "Are you really serious?"

Kees and Linda really meant it, so Mario and his son were placed in the ambulance and driven to the harbor pier. There, an extra blanket was placed over the stretcher, and Mario was able to enjoy the shipping traffic and the smells and sounds of a harbor.

Kees saw that Mario was thoroughly enjoying himself. Mario became emotional, tears streaming down his cheeks, and he started talking about every ship that passed. "And then a harbor service boat came by. 'Would you like to go for a sail?' Kees asked. 'Then I'll put you and Linda on board, sail you to Rotterdam, and then I'll pick you up there in the ambulance.' His colleague Linda knew that Kees was crazy enough to take action right away. Mario admitted that he would love to sail again, but that he was no longer able to board a ship. So Mario was loaded back into the ambulance and taken to Erasmus MC for his treatment, but Linda clearly saw that a seed had been planted in Kees's mind and was germinating rapidly.

The seed grew into the Ambulance Wish Foundation

After his shift, Kees immediately went to work for Mario and received a tip to contact the Spido boat tour company in Rotterdam. He contacted Spido, who wanted to know exactly what the plan was. When the Spido boss realized it was about fulfilling the wish of a terminally ill person, he immediately agreed to cooperate. "Just pick a day, and we'll make it happen." Kees chose his next free day, arranged for an ambulance and a nurse to accompany him, and called Mario's son, who was astonished and overjoyed to hear that his father would be sailing after all.

It was decided that Mario wouldn't be told anything beforehand; he would be surprised. And he was surprised when his son and Kees came to "kidnap" him from the Holy Hospital. He couldn't hold back his tears when he heard what awaited him. Only on the tour boat did he regain his composure and truly begin to enjoy himself. When Kees saw how Mario revived and beamed, he said to those around him: "This is so simple, so simple: a few phone calls, an old ambulance, and you can make people happy by fulfilling their last wish." This gave Kees the idea to establish a foundation, and so, on February 26, 2007, the Ambulance Wish Foundation was officially established. Just do it!

Just do it

"Just Do It" is the story of the life's work of Kees Veldboer, founder and director of the Ambulance Wish Foundation. As an ambulance driver, Veldboer discovered that sometimes a very small gesture can make a huge difference for the seriously ill. He decided to establish a foundation to fulfill the final wishes of terminally ill people.

The book 'Gewoon doen' is available to order.