Lisas last christmas - Benjamin Krog

Lisa Nielsen has long thought that she was about to celebrate her last Christmas. This year, however, she is certain that it will be her last.

Because at the beginning of the new year, she will die.

Lisa suffers from COPD and is no longer able to breathe on her own. In April this year, doctors told her to keep her mask on 24 hours a day. Two months later, she was admitted to Hospice Zealand in Roskilde, where she has been ever since.

For several years, Lisa has been prepared for her death. That's why she doesn't fear death, but she hopes it can wait. Just until Christmas Eve is over.

“My mother was buried three days before Christmas Eve and it wasn't much fun. I want my family to have only good memories of Christmas.”

It's December 24, 2023, and it's approaching 12 o'clock. The table is set up nicely. Oilcloth with Christmas hearts, red napkins and pine cones among red roses. Lisa is visited by her loved ones, including her daughter Nadia, her niece Julie and grandchildren. It's the first time in five years that the whole family has come together to celebrate Christmas because Lisa has been too ill. Before Lisa became seriously ill, Christmas consisted of dancing around the tree, gift-giving and classic Christmas food.

Text by Ikran Abdiaziz