Israel's Wish Ambulance makes last dreams come true

By Manuel Heckel Aug 12, 2011, 10:31 GMT

Tel Aviv - Seeing the family for the last time, praying at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall or going to the sea...

Such wishes would normally appear impossible for many terminally ill people in Israel, but a special ambulance service is now making them come true.

Relatives are thrilled, but some doctors are critical of the new approach to the terminally ill.

During 70-year-old Leah Bouaron's last visit home, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews stayed close to the stretcher carrying her.

Secured onto the stretcher, she was hooked up to oxygen and an electrocardiogram, while surrounding relatives held her hand.

'She could no longer speak, but I knew she was happy,' says her daughter Hodaja Bouaron as she shows pictures of the gathering. Two weeks later, Leah died of severe heart problems in hospital.

'We laughed and we cried - those were really special moments for our family,' Bouaron said. More than a year later, the 30-year-old is still close to tears when remembering it all.

Voluntary workers with the 'Wish Ambulance,' organized by Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom - similar to the Red Cross or Red Crescent - made it possible for Bouaron's mother to leave hospital for the last time.

Paying a last visit from a hospital bed to the Wailing Wall, from a home for the elderly to a family gathering or just going to the zoo from home - such wishes by the terminally ill can now become reality.

'Every wish is a new challenge,' says Izik Levy, who coordinates the project for Magen David Adom.

The service was called into life after one of his colleagues heard of a similar project operated in her native country of the Netherlands.

In Israel, a special ambulance stands ready in the Tel Aviv suburb of Kirijat Ono. The yellow and red vehicle cost 300,000 euros (428,000 dollars), 200,000 euros of which were donated by a Jewish doctor from Sweden.

The ambulance is equipped to care for patients for an entire day as if they were in intensive care. Its equipment also includes a wheelchair with extra thick tyres for going to the beach, and a large screen showing pictures of what is going on outside.

'The idea is to let the patient see all that is going on,' Levy says.

The ambulance also has two refrigerators - 'one for medication and the other for food, so they can have a picnic on the beach,' the 65-year-old says.

Magen David Adom's Wish Ambulance has gone out about 100 times over the past 1.5 years. Levy would like to use it more, but many doctors are reluctant to allow patients to leave their hospital routine.

'Apart from that, there is also the question of who takes responsibility,' Levy says.

Leah Bouaron's family had a hard time getting permission for their mother's last outing. 'The hospital doctors were totally opposed to it, but we fought to bring her home one last time,' Hodaja Bouaron says.

Prior to every trip, a team of paramedics and doctors examines the case in detail. Only patients who remain conscious are given the green light.

'We organize these trips for the patients - not for the families,' Levy stresses. Most of the guests on the Wish Ambulance suffer from lung diseases, cancer or chronic conditions of internal organs.

Three voluntary helpers are on board the ambulance every time. All of those involved, ranging from the driver to the coordinator, are volunteers. 'Magen David Adom pays only the insurance and petrol,' Levy says.

That allows the team to make dreams come true free of charge. Bouaron expresses heartfelt gratitude towards the team, with which she remains in contact.

'They are very special people,' she says.