Small wonders: dying wishes are often about the simple things

What would you ask for if you were granted three wishes in the final days of your life?

An ongoing project in US and Canadian hospitals is finding that it’s often the simple things that mean the most to terminally ill patients – from connecting with a long-lost friend or listening to favourite music, to having a final toast or sip of a milkshake.

The Three Wishes Project, which involves doctors taking the lead to fulfil the wishes of dying patients, is changing the way families cope in the face of death...