Antoinette's wish: How a new program gave Moncton woman joy at the end of her life
Antoinette LeBlanc longed to return to her beloved beach in Cap Bimet
There was no place Antoinette LeBlanc of Moncton loved more than Cap Bimet.
From the age of four, she spent her summers at the Shediac-area beach. But in September, when the 99-year-old entered the Albert House hospice in Moncton, she never thought she'd see her beloved beach again.
Then the hospice's special wishes committee got involved.
They'd been meeting for just a few months, and Antoinette's wish was the first one to be granted.
Within 24 hours, Antoinette was taken to the nursing home where she had been living to say goodbye to staff and friends. And then she was off to Cap Bimet.
Her son, Pete LeBlanc, says his mother knew her destination, but she didn't know a large crowd would be waiting.
"We invited all the cousins we could find in 24 hours cause that's all the time we had," LeBlanc said.
The weather was perfect, and Antoinette had the opportunity to bask in the sun, and the love of her family.
"It's to finish a full life in a very fulfilling way, is that she had the chance—and not many people do—to say good-bye to her closest relatives on her terms and in a very good way," LeBlanc said.
"She was in pretty good spirits and her health was a little bit better that day. She has good days and bad days and this just happened to be a very good day for her."
Kirstin Shortt is the chair of the special wishes committee and says everyone benefited.
"I think the whole committee really was uplifted by this whole experience and how fast we can deliver and how much it meant to Antoinette, because I think when she was first admitted to residence, her life expectancy was not more than a week or so and she made it to almost three months," Shortt said.
Antoinette LeBlanc died on Nov. 14, 2021.
Shortt said the committee has gone on to grant five more wishes. Some are simple, such as having a laptop to use. But they're important to the person making the request.
The program is available to palliative patients at the hospice or clients who are at home.
Shortt said Special Wishes received federal funding under the New Horizons for Seniors Program. And as the committee re-applies for funding in March, there are hopes the program can be expanded to nursing homes.
"It's the best experience that you could be there and it's humbling that you are actually part of somebody's last wish and that you can actually do it," Shortt said.
Liette LeBlanc-Brewer, a volunteer at Albert House, also wants people to understand the importance of the program.
"I think when you have a diagnostic, you see the end of life in a different way and so to make a wish come true when you know you're on limited time is very special," she said.
LeBlanc-Brewer helped arrange Antoinette's last wish, and says it's something she will never forget.
"It was very heartwarming for me," she said. "You know, I like to give and it was beautiful to see it come together and it was the first wish."
That perfect September day is also one Antoinette LeBlanc's family will always remember.
Her son, Pete, said there are videos and pictures, and memories for a lifetime.
"We know today, reflecting back, that it was her last really great day on this earth, that she was herself and with loved ones," he said. "And she's the type of person that always liked the gathering and always liked to receive people in her home and we gave her that for one last time."