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One hospital in Denmark went above and beyond to help a man enjoy his last few hours on Earth. Doing so meant fulfilling the elderly man’s dying wish—letting him smoke and drink, a pretty extensive breach of hospital policy. But they made it happen, so one man could enjoy a sunset, a glass of wine and a cigarette before he died.
The man in question was Carsten Flemming Hansen. He was admitted to Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and soon learned he would not be staying there very long, as his condition was quite serious.
According to a post on the hospital’s Facebook page, the patient was admitted last week. Hansen had suffered an aortic aneurysm and internal bleeding in his stomach. The hospital decided that Hansen, 75, was too fragile to undergo surgery to stop the bleeding. The hospital staff informed him he had only a few days, but more likely a few hours, left to live.
Naturally, anyone who gets news of this nature is displeased, but Hansen took it in stride. He merely asked for a smoke and a drink. Specifically, a Green LA cigarette and a glass of cold white wine. This is where things got a little tricky for hospital staff.
Naturally, smoking is not allowed in hospitals—even in Europe, where there are still plenty of smokers. So the nurses decided to bend the rules a little bit to help Hansen fulfill his dying wish. They wheeled his bed out onto a balcony where he could smoke his cigarette, enjoy his wine and watch a beautiful sunset with his family.
According to a nurse who spoke to Danish news outlet Avisen.dk, Hansen and his family were “cozy and relaxed” while watching the sunset. “Of course there were relatives also affected by the fact that he was going to die, and they were sad. But it was cozy, and there was humor.”
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Hansen lived for a few more days after his dying wish for a glass of wine and cigarette, and passed in a “dignified” and quiet death on April 7, according to the hospital. Rest in peace, Mr. Hansen.