A heartwarming ambulance song during a patient’s final voyage home moves millions globally

An poignant “ambulance serenade” for a cancer sufferer on her final journey home has moved people across the world. This act of kindness demonstrates the dedication of caretakers such as Yvon Kanters from the Netherlands. Yvon, a professional social worker, volunteered at a nursing home during the 2020 pandemic, providing assistance to individuals in need. A staff member, aware of the 26-year-old’s excellent voice, invited her to sing for dementia and Parkinson’s patients who felt alone yet enjoyed opera.

Yvon told Newsweek that as she performed, the man gestured at her and then at his tears, as if to say, “You’re singing for me” and “You’re bringing me to tears.” “I really saw a new way of connection, and that music is really a universal language,” she told me. “We can speak with anyone.” Yvon’s viral video singing for an elderly man sparked a flood of requests from nursing homes and hospitals, where she performed for patients undergoing cancer treatment and dialysis.

This eventually resulted in a highly emotional “ambulance serenade” witnessed by four million people, in which Yvon sang a treasured song for a woman and her husband on her final journey home after exhausting all of her medical options. In a touching TikTok video broadcast on February 22, Yvon said, “She chose this song for her final journey home.” As the woman lay in a non-emergency ambulance bed, Yvon delivered a strong version of Jennifer Rush’s “The Power of Love,” which Celine Dion also sang. She subsequently told Newsweek that when she initially entered the room, the woman was with her husband and filled with hope.

“We took her to the ambulance and asked her, ‘I’m a singer, and I’m coming along for the day; is there anything you want to hear?’” She and her hubby clearly love each other. She mentioned her and her husband’s song was ‘The Power of Love.’” Yvon said that the woman was visibly moved to tears when she sang, but she never explained why.

Later, at the woman’s home, Yvon played “Dancing Queen” as a particular tribute to the couple’s long-standing love of ABBA. The video significantly impacted TikTok users, eliciting an outpouring of emotional responses. One worker emphasized the importance of music in patient care, stating that they constantly ask ambulance patients what songs they like to hear.

Another said they couldn’t stop crying, and a 59-year-old man described himself as “sobbing” after the moving performance. Many others shared similar feelings, with one commenter saying that the video should include a caution. Yvon told Newsweek that music has always been a huge part of her life, and her family is quite interested. Her mother and sisters played instruments, and her father drove them to concerts and rehearsals.