If you had the chance to have one wish come true for a single afternoon, what would you choose? Would you go up in a hot air balloon, travel to a famous destination, or eat a lavish meal? One woman recently had that chance — for the last time in her life.
Agnes Santillo, who goes by Mickey, is 99 years old.
She’s been in hospice care since May 2019 while living in a second-story condo since she was in her 50s. Until now, it’s never posed a problem. But last spring, she had a fall that left her struggling to climb the stairs. That combined with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure started her in hospice care.
There, the vibrant 99-year-old made friends with the staff who really wanted to do something nice for her. Santillo enjoys music therapy at the hospice center and it was her music therapist, Michael Richardson, who asked what he could do for her.
“Today we are trying to make a special wish come true for one of our patients,” said Richardson. “She is about to be 100 — this is her 100th birthday coming up in December. So, we wanted to make sure that we made this special wish come true as soon as possible.”
Santillo had something in mind.
She wanted a chauffeured limousine ride to take her and a few friends out to lunch.
The staff at the hospice were happy to grant her wish. The hired limo escorted Santillo and two friends to a local Mexican restaurant, which she chose.
There, they enjoyed a delicious lunch at a table decorated with flowers just for them.
One of her friends even had a margarita.
“It was wonderful and I’m overwhelmed,” said Santillo. “I never thought anything like this would happen to me. This little old country girl from Yoakum, Texas, getting all this attention. Really, I never did. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know how to say it!”
What’s more, he knew they might not get another chance.
“She’s such a bright, bubbly person,” he said. “We don’t have a crystal ball, but we wanted to make sure we did everything we could to make this happen as soon as possible.”
Four Seasons limo donated a car and driver for two hours.
To get Santillo into the limo, three first responders arrived to help her down the stairs since she can no longer navigate them on her own. Santillo is legally blind and has difficulty hearing yet she doesn’t wish to wear hearing aids.
Her two guests, 96-year-old Emily Spaniel, and 103-year-old Hazel Bankston enjoyed themselves as they sipped margaritas, ate nachos, and talked about the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
When they returned home, Santillo was still glowing as she met the first responders again who helped her back up to her condo.
Hospice staff says the outing may be the last time Santillo can leave her apartment. But that day, having a pleasant lunch with good friends was the only thing on her mind.
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