The daughter of a dying man wanted to make his last days special. And she did — thanks to the kindness of strangers.
Patrick Mitchell always wanted to live past 100, but that all changed when the adventurous grandfather was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 pancreatic cancer at the age of 72.
Vanessa, Vanessa’s daughter, took to Facebook.
“My dear dad has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I’m taking December off of work to enjoy some bucket list activities with him. Anyone have ideas?”She wrote.
She received numerous offers from complete strangers.
A U.S. Navy search & rescue swimmer took the father and daughter on a private tour through a helicopter squadron. The couple also had a behind the scenes tour of the Navy assault ship U.S.S. Makin Island
This was only the beginning.
They flew to Las Vegas for a stay at the Paris Hotel. They attended a major fight at the UFC’s invitation.
“Neither of us were fans, initially. We didn’t really know much about it, and then, just the bonding experience of being there with the excitement. It just felt like that entire arena was filled with so much life,” Vanessa said.
Patrick’s energy was decreasing. Vanessa organized for a local violinist, to play her dad’s favorite songs, when he was unable to travel.
“To have this extra flood of love and support from complete strangers just absolutely made a difference for him,” Vanessa said.
Patrick passed away last week from cancer. Although his bucket list was not complete, Vanessa said her father died happy.
“He was completely moved by the spirit of humanity, thanks to everyone around us just scooping us up into this big hug, and I’m just so forever grateful for,” Vanessa said.