Kentish Express Ashford & District
Paramedics help fan’s dying wish come true
Two kind ambulance carers have been praised for helping to fulfil a footy fan’s dying wish to see his beloved Celtic Park for the final time.
Liver cancer patient James McNulty had been admitted to the St Mary’s Hospital in London after becoming unwell earlier this month, and was told the cancer had spread, giving him just three to six months left to live.
His sister Trudy McNulty Cook had to travel from Glasgow, but needed the help of a private ambulance in order to take James back to the city.
Ashford based firm Meditech stepped in to answer the call, and ambulance care assistants Andy Sawyer and Tom Stapleton drove them back to Scotland.
On the journey the duo talked to James about his love of football and Celtic and he explained that he wanted to get his picture taken outside the ground before he died.
So they decided to take a detour to Parkhead so James could fulfil his wish. Then outside the stadium a club staff member invited him in for a free tour, where he got a chance to be in the home dressing room, sit at the boardroom table, see the club trophy room, and go pitchside.
His sister said: “Our dad used to take us when we were wee children, and James loved the Lisbon Lions team of the 1960s which won the European Cup with manager Jock Stein.
“He thoroughly enjoyed his whole day in that ambulance, it was a good day for him. He was awake for the whole thing and really enjoyed himself coming back up to Glasgow.
“Those two ambulance drivers made the day for him. Without them it would not have been as good.”
James, now 69, had been living in London where he worked as a cooper by trade, making barrels for whisky.
Since his return, he has been admitted to hospital, and Trudy said he is now as comfortable as he can be.
She added “I would like to say thanks a million to the ambulance drivers, they were so professional and so kind. They have made a dying man’s wish come true.”