After more than two periods apart, I rewired with Luke, a high school friend, a few years ago. We restarted our regular discussion and caught up on each other’s lives. But one day, Luke broke the appalling news that he only had a few days left to live. We had only met him once, but my partner Jaye, our little boy Cade, and I didn’t think twice when I asked Jaye if we could travel to see him. “roadtrip” was his first feedback.
We toured more than seven hours to the Gold Coast to be with Luke, who lived in a different state. It was a beautiful, sunny winter day when we got to the infirmary that Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The most basic of Luke’s final desires was to feel the shingle between his toes. “It’s unlucky that we live so close to the beach and never visit,” he told me over the phone a few days previous.
We therefore told him that he was free to go wherever he was happy. He demanded to visit the beach. We went through Surfer’s Heaven on the way there. Luke was a little dissatisfied that he couldn’t appreciate the view because of his worsening vision. In order to make Luke feel included in the experience, Jaye decided to act as Luke’s eyes, relating the sights, the beachgoers, and the “pretty young things” ambling down the road.
Luke was in his part as we annoyed 90s heavy metal in the Ute, including Danzig, Metallica, and Panera. However, we met an issue when we arrived at the beach, there was no wheelchair rug set up by the surf club. The chair soon became wedged when Jaye attempted to push Luke finished the sand. Jaye said, “F–k it…” without reluctance. Hold on, Luke,” he said, pulling the wheelchair back over 80 meters of sand to bring him near the beach.
Discovering Nemo“Mine! Mine! Mine!” Luke sat with his toes in the sand, the wind on his face, laughing and nattering with the seagulls. “I should have brought chips,” he joked. Our friend Dazz ran to the Tropicana for a bowl of hot chips in a substance of minutes. “Are ya ready, mate?” Jaye asked in the meantime. Luke said, “Don’t worry, buddy, this is good enough,” with gratification.
Jaye, however, wasn’t going to stop there. He said, “We didn’t hustle seven and a half hours just to stare at the beach!” “You’re going down there!” Luke’s eyes shined. He was uncertain if he would make it, but Jaye assured him, “We’ll carry you if we have to.” Luke walked slowly towards the water with Cade and Jaye’s hindrance. I took pictures for his friends and family. His feet got sandy, his shorts got wet, and his heart was full.
He was tremendously joyful. Luke remarked, “Cool, what’s next?” as the moment came to an end. I would worship a beer!
After tedious him back to the walkway, we made our way to the nearby Shark Bar. He tried to eat a burger there, had a VB, and customary apprises on the match between his preferred football team and his own. Cade gladly consumed the note, even though he was only able to eat a few bites. At the sickbay, Jaye even took the steak knife for Luke’s oddball avocado assembly.
It was time to return by evening. Luke told us it had been an amazing day and asked us to pick him up the subsequent day for another adventure while we volume up the music all the way to the hospital.
The next Monday morning, Luke passed away. We are exceptionally thankful that we were able to spend that special holiday with him, assisting him in accomplishing his last requirements and making lifelong reminiscences.
