The score was 2:1 Seattle Kraken, but for one Florida Panthers fan, it was a big win!

Alan Reddish loves sports. Every time his nurse Natalie Villabrera-Williams, RN, visits, the 53-year-old has a game on the television. His room at Lenox on the Lake is decorated in sports memorabilia, and he takes his Panthers ice hockey very seriously.

Natalie has been with VITAS in Broward County, Florida, for nearly 18 years and has been Alan’s primary care nurse since he was admitted in 2022, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

"I love what I do,” says Natalie. “My patients are like family. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them.”

Natalie and Alan have formed a special bond over the years, so when Natalie noticed that Alan was looking a little ragged, having let his beard grow unruly, she did not hesitate to ask, “Why won’t you let Ingrid (hospice aide) shave your beard?”

Alan’s response was simple. “The Panthers are in the playoffs. It’s bad luck to shave my beard when the Panthers are in the playoffs.”

Wish Maker Program

When Natalie and Social Worker Elizabeth Clifford saw the posters for the VITAS Wish Maker program, they turned to each other and said simultaneously, “Alan would be perfect for this.”

VITAS Wish Maker is a program that fulfills special requests for hospice patients to live out one of their dreams. In Broward County, the committee consists of team managers, social workers, a music therapist, and a volunteer manager who meet regularly, review the wishes, and send a request to the general manager for approval.

Then everyone helps to make the magic happen.

During their team meeting, Natalie and Elizabeth made the request known. The committee wasted no time reaching out to make this wish come true for Alan’s care team.

“It’s a testament to how far VITAS will go to make their patients and families happy,” says Natalie.

A Team Effort

Broward County General Managers Jaime Collazo and Donna Borland, along with the rest of the Wish Maker Committee, orchestrated the event, securing tickets for the game, reaching out to representatives from the Florida Panthers, and organizing a pep rally send-off at Alan’s assisted living facility.

It’s a testament to how far VITAS will go to make their patients and families happy.-Natalie Villabrera-Williams, VITAS RN

“This is an amazing opportunity for us to make a final wish come true to help a patient ‘live until you die,’” says Donna in the words of Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement. “Not only are we, as leaders, excited and grateful for the opportunity, but to see the joy on the faces of the patient, facility staff, and VITAS team makes the experience even more meaningful.”

The Wish Maker program is made possible purely through generous donations. Future Tech, an IT solutions provider, donated two skybox tickets for Alan and Natalie to attend the playoff game on Saturday, February 22. This is the second time that Future Tech donated box seats to a VITAS Wish Maker recipient.

“It’s a great opportunity to support a patient with a final wish,” says Joe Venero, director of corporate strategy at Future Tech.

National Health Transportation (NHT) donated transportation to escort Alan to and from the arena.

Says Jaime, "It is because of our amazing partners that our patients can transition out of this life with memories that will carry them to the next."

Pep Rally Send-Off

Natalie kept the event a surprise and swore all involved to secrecy. When it came time for the pep rally, Natalie’s colleagues joined the staff and residents of Lenox on the Lake.

VITAS Wish Makers supplied a cake, banner, and a big party to send Alan off to his first live Panthers game since 2007.

“His face lit up, and he had tears in his eyes,” Natalie recalls. “I can’t express how happy I was to see my patient smile from ear to ear.”

Simple Pleasures Mean the Most

Leading up to the game, Alan was more excited about how Natalie would react to seeing a live hockey match, something she had never experienced before. However, it was Natalie who took the most pleasure in watching her patient take in the sights from the VIP skybox.

“I will never forget it,” she says. “We wheeled him in, and he did a 360 because he wanted to take in the whole experience. I left him alone then because I wanted him to have that moment.”

When he had settled, Alan’s first request was a simple one. He wanted a beer. Natalie was thrilled to bring him one to enjoy with the game.

“I was just happy to be there with my friend,” she says of her time with Alan.

‘You’ve Made My Life’

The joy of the game was infectious. Even the tremors Alan suffers from Parkinson’s didn’t stop him from raising his fist and chanting, “Go Panthers!” The entire skybox joined in chanting with him.

That would have been enough for Alan: the box seats, the beer, the game. But the Florida Panthers had one more surprise in store.

Representatives from the team presented Alan with a signed ball cap, a bobblehead doll, Panthers memorabilia and swag, and the highest honor of all: They let him try on the Stanley Cup championship ring.

“He felt like a celebrity,” Natalie recalls.

Alan was deeply moved, and with tears in his eyes and that chunky gold ring on his finger, he said, “You’ve made my life.”

It didn’t matter that the Panthers lost to Seattle. When Alan and Natalie left that evening, all they felt was victorious.

Says Natalie, “I wouldn’t have traded this experience for anything in the world.”