'I was shocked that they were willing to go this far': B.C. palliative patient gifted beloved pizza for meaningful meal
After spending more than four months in hospital, Sanjeeve Seeburn and his wife Sandy were thinking back on that “magical” summer day they spent at a rural lavender farm.
“So beautiful,” Sandy Seeburn recalls with a big smile. “So peaceful.”
And the wood-fired pizza they were served there, Sanjeeve says, is the best he ever had.
“It was amazing,” he says from his hospital bed. “I never forgot that flavour.”
Sanjeeve wondered if experiencing it again with Sandy might help them cope with the sudden diagnosis that he was suffering from a rare and aggressive cancer.
“He always say, ‘Be positive. Keep going,’” Sandy says.
So Sanjeeve sent a message to the Bilston Creek lavender farm, which was received by events manager Karen Grundlingh.
“We couldn’t believe what we were reading,” Karen recalls.
Sanjeeve wrote that he was in palliative care, with just weeks to live, and hoped to taste their pizza one last time.
“It’s his wish,” Karen says. “Why wouldn’t we do it?!”
So although it was the off-season and they weren’t serving any food, the staff at Bilston Creek spent two days preparing the outdoor oven that had been dormant all winter, and scrambling to source the ingredients for the handmade dough and fresh toppings to make the pizza Sanjeeve had remembered so fondly.
“It begins with our own tomato sauce,” chef Sandi Iriving says while creating the pizza. “Then mozzarella cheese, kale from our local farmers, artichoke hearts, chicken, and Moroccan olives.”
As Sandi drizzles olive oil and sprinkles salt along the crust to ensure a satisfying last bite, she reveals the pizza’s most important ingredient with a giggle: “Love!”
Sandi was one of a number of people who came in on their day off to grant Sanjeeve’s wish.
Bilston Creek’s owner Andrew Penn provided all the food – plus the 45-minute drive from the farm in Metchosin to the hospital in Victoria – for free.
“I was shocked that they were willing to go this far,” Sanjeeve says, smiling. “I was just ordering a pizza.”
But then again, Sanjeeve says, this is not about pizza — this is about kindness.
He hoped that by sharing his story, others will be inspired to spread kindness too.
“Then the world will be a very better place to live,” Sanjeeve says. “And we can have hope for this world.”
When Karen delivers the pizzas to the hospital room, Sandy greets her with a big hug. Then Sanjeeve opens the box, and takes a moment to relish the aroma, before taking his first bite and giving a thumbs up.
“I don’t have words,” Sandy cries, stroking her husband’s head. “It touched my heart. I am so happy.”
Sanjeeve is so thankful that he could share the pizza with the health-care team that he couldn’t be more grateful for. And thankful that, although a hospital bed in the winter couldn’t be more different than a lavender field in the summer, he could have one more meaningful meal with his beloved Sandy by his side.
“Enjoy every day, every second, every moment you have in your life,” Sanjeeve says. “You never know tomorrow how you’re going to wake up.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6943621.1719510587!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Watch Live Now: Canadian analysis ahead of the CNN Presidential Debate
U.S. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are set to go head-to-head tonight in the first of two planned presidential debates. Here's how to watch the CNN Presidential Debate, Power Play's pre- and post-debate specials, and follow along in our real-time CTVNews.ca live expert analysis and commentary by debate and body-language experts.
'Hanging on for her life': Sask. family desperate to bring home sick niece from Philippines
For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.
'No additional flights will be cancelled': WestJet avoids strike as feds order binding arbitration
A potential strike by WestJet airplane mechanics would upend travel plans for 250,000 customers over the Canada Day long weekend, the airline says — and cost it millions of dollars.
BREAKING Nunavut judge sentences Toronto woman to 3 years prison for Inuit identity fraud
A Nunavut judge has sentenced a Toronto woman to three years in prison in a case of Inuit identity fraud.
Canada's top court rejects appeal from Sask. man who murdered wife
The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected an application from a Saskatoon man who murdered his wife.
Where do new Canadians come from? India and Philippines take top spots
Canada has welcomed more than 3.9 million new citizens since 2005, with nearly one third coming from India, the Philippines or China, according to a CTVNews.ca analysis.
Marilyn Monroe's former Los Angeles home declared a historic monument to save it from demolition
Fans of Marilyn Monroe have won a battle to preserve her mark on Los Angeles and are a step closer to seeing a towering statue of the silver screen icon remain in Palm Springs.
Man charged with threatening to kill presidential candidates found dead as jury was deciding verdict
A New Hampshire man charged with threatening the lives of presidential candidates last year has been found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict, according to court filings Thursday.
AI regulation 'a start,' needs to 'have teeth': Hinton, godfather of AI, says
So-called godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton says he's 'pleased' governments are starting to take artificial intelligence, and the possible regulations of it, seriously.