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Terminally Ill Woman Receives Last Wish to Visit a Museum

Viewing artwork can be a comforting, moving experience, and one you might not easily forget – even on your last days. This past Tuesday, a terminally ill woman was taken by ambulance to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam so that she could visit the arts and history museum one more time. She's seen taking in a self-portrait by Rembrandt and was accompanied by two other terminal patients.

This touching event was made possible by Stichting Ambulance Wens (translated: Ambulance Wish Foundation). They're a Dutch organization that fulfills the last wishes of non-mobile, terminally ill patients. This could mean a visit back home (if the person is in hospice), a trip to a favorite city, or another meaningful locale. They have a fleet of custom ambulances with 200 volunteer medical personnel, and have realized almost 6,000 wishes since 2007.

Stichting Ambulance Wens website
Images via Stichting Ambulance Wens Twitter
via [Laughing Squid and Neatorama]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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