Woman sneaks rum into hospital to share 'one last drink with dad' before his death: 'I love you'

A woman is heaping praises for fulfilling her dad's final wishes and handing him some rum and cola for his final drink. Penelope Ann lost her father earlier this month but not before giving him a final drink and sending him off with a buzz. The wholesome moment shared on TikTok has since gone viral. Ann, from Australia, said her father suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung condition, and the family was informed that he didn't have long to live. Ann and her mother decided to cheer him up and share a special moment with him before he passed away. Ann snuck a Bundaberg rum and cola drink into the hospital where her dad was admitted, so he could have a final drink.

Ann posted a clip of the moment and it's as heartwarming as it can get. Ann captioned the video, "One last drink with dad before his spirit returned to the universe. Until we cross paths again old man. I love you." The video starts with Ann holding a syringe and a can of rum. Ann tells the camera, "I came prepared for the send-off." She then dips the syringe into the can and draws a bit of rum into the syringe. Her dad is lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed and facing them. He is also hooked up to a range of machines that are monitoring his condition. "Give him a little taste here," says Ann as she fills up the syringe. 

Her mother, who's also by his bedside, explains what's happening as he has his eyes closed. "We brought you rum, dad. We’re going to put it in [a syringe] and put it in your mouth." Ann then proceeds to pour the rum into her dad's mouth with the help of the syringe. Ann asks her dad, "Tastes good?" He nods his head, eliciting laughter and joy from Ann and her mother. "Hell yeah," Ann replies enthusiastically. The video went viral, garnering more than 2.2 million view on TikTok.

The comments section was filled with people praising Pennelope Ann for being so thoughtful and carrying out her dad's wish. "Everyone deserves family like this around them at the end. I’m so sorry for your loss," wrote one person. Some medical professionals also chimed in. "As a nurse, I couldn’t love this anymore. Send him out in style! Sorry for your loss," wrote another person. Some shared their own personal stories of carrying out wishes of their loved ones in similar fashion. "Aww bless, my brother-in-law was at the end with cancer and nurses allowed him to have a spliff and a whiskey. We wheeled his bed outside so he could," commented one person. Another wrote, "I snuck margaritas into my niece's hospital room for our sleepover during her last week of life," wrote another.

Some were not impressed and said she shouldn't be sharing a private moment of the family. She posted another video, addressing those who made negative comments about sharing the video. "There were a few people questioning why I posted something like that and believing that it should have been something that was private, like, 'Why would you even record it?' Those were the last moments where we had interactions with my dad — and I'm so, so thankful that I did record it," she wrote, emphasizing how much happiness it brought her and why she'll always have that memory to treasure and always look back upon. "I am so appreciative that I thought to set my phone up and just... I just hit record, and I captured, like, 15 minutes of mom and I getting any interaction that we could before he passed away," she added, before thanking all those who sent her family wishes and shared their stories.

After she lost her father, she posted a message about grief. "My whole chest feels like a void. My legs are weary and my body feels heavy. We knew this was coming for so long. I did not expect to feel like this," she wrote.