Nurse makes sure cancer patient gets his final wish: to fly in an airplane
![A plane in the sky.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/T2CekEkirw38hrBuRZbqSo-415-80.jpg)
As a kid, Joe Booth used to enjoy building model planes, but he says he "just never got the chance" to actually fly in one.
Booth has prostate cancer, and when his doctors told him in February he should discontinue taking his medication, he started thinking of things he wanted to do before it was too late — and that included flying in an airplane for the first time. The 69-year-old New Albany, Indiana, resident told his oncology nurse at Norton Hospital, Tracey Hoffman, about his wish, and she knew she wanted to make it happen. "He has a lot of pain, but he doesn't complain about it," she told the Louisville Courier Journal. "He's trying to make the most of the time he has left. That's something we should all do."
More than 25 pilots volunteered to fly Booth over Louisville and southern Indiana, and when the day arrived for Booth to take flight, he was excited but apprehensive. "I'm getting one wish granted, but I'm hoping for a parachute, too," he joked. Not only did Booth get to be a passenger, but he was also briefly the pilot. "It was priceless," his son, Brian Booth, told the Courier Journal. "He has never done anything like that. He actually took the steering wheel and flew for a bit." Booth said he was so appreciative of Hoffman and his doctor, Arash Rezazadeh, for helping him see the world from a new angle. "It was an experience," he said. "It's a different world all together up there."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The manosphere: the shady online network of masculinists
The Explainer A new police report said a rise in radicalised young men is contributing to an increase in violence against women and girls
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How can we fix tourism?
Today's Big Question Local protests over negative impact of ever-rising visitor numbers could change how we travel forever
By The Week UK Published
-
Simone Biles: Rising – an 'elegantly paced and vulnerable' portrait of the gymnast
The Week Recommends Netflix's four-part documentary is more than a 'riveting comeback story'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 wins
speed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughter
speed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Speed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 Grammys
Speed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published