Terry Hodge knew that this could be her husband Vernon's last trip to the beach, so she enlisted the help of a group of kind-hearted holidaymakers to make his wish of riding a wave for one last time come true.
Vernon, who is in his 60s, suffers from Alzheimer's as well as FTD, or Tick’s Disease and Terry fears that he may have as little as one year left to live. Both diseases are progressive and have steadily been taking a toll on Vernon, according to his relatives.
She approached a group of men on a beach near Duck, North Carolina, and asked them to help her make Vernon's wish come true. They readily agreed and a few days later the heartwarming gesture was filmed by the couple's daughter Rachael Goodloe.
Shortly after Vernon hit the water for his "last wave", Ryan Giancola shared the video on social media.
"What an amazing experience and on my birthday none the less!" Giancola commented.
Yesterday an elderly lady came up to us at the beach and asked if we could help fulfill her husbands wish to ride a wave one last time. She said that he is suffering from dementia and most likely has a year to live. What and amazing experience and on my birthday none the less! pic.twitter.com/RW0rdhugK6
— Ryan Giancola (@giancola_ryan) July 17, 2019
The video has been viewed on Twitter more than 7 million times and hundreds of people have commended the men on their kindness.
Here are just a few of their comments:
That’s the best wave y’all could catch🤔
— Real1 (@TayIored) July 18, 2019
Bunch of solid ass dudes right there 👌🏻👌🏻
— Gregg Poirier (@Greggpoirier) July 19, 2019
@DinoCimarusti I’m crying
— Santina Cimarusti (@Santuna_) July 18, 2019
This is simultaneously heart breaking and beautiful
— Leon Lush 🍅 (@LeonLush) July 21, 2019
I can't thank you enough for doing that! I can say from experience that it meant as much to his wife (in the never-ending, tumultuous role as care giver) as it did to him. TY for restoring my faith in humanity.
— Elaine (@tack_cat) July 19, 2019