A terminally ill five-year-old died in Santa Claus’s arms after fulfilling his last wish to see Father Christmas.
Eric Schmitt-Matzen, 60, who plays Santa at 80 different venues every year was asked over a month ago to visit the dying boy. Schmitt-Matzen, a mechanical engineer and co-owner of Packaging Seals & Engineering, received a pressing phone call from a nurse at the hospital where he often played Santa.
The nurse called him to meet the five-year-old boy and said he didn’t have much time, Knoxville News Sentinel reported. Schmitt-Matzen reached the hospital fifteen minutes later, where the boy’s mother handed him a toy to gift to the child.
“I sized up the situation and told everyone, ‘If you think you’re going to lose it, please leave the room. If I see you crying, I’ll break down and can’t do my job’,” he said.
“When I turned around, where is everyone? Already outside, crying in the hallway,” he told Daily Mail.
Schmitt-Matzen then walked into the room to meet the boy. “He was laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep,” he said.
“I sat down on his bed and asked, “Say, what’s this I hear about you’re going to miss Christmas? There’s no way you can miss Christmas.”
Looking up at Schmitt-Matzen who perfectly resembled Santa Claus, the boy asked: “I am?” Schmitt-Matzen affirmed to the boy that he was and handed him the toy.
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The little boy then asked Santa a question. “They say I’m gonna die,” he told Schmitt-Matzen. “How can I tell when I get to where I’m going?” Following which Schmitt-Matzen asked the little boy to do him a “big favour”.
“When you get there, you tell them you’re Santa’s Number One elf, and I know they’ll let you in,” he told the boy. “They will?” the boy asked. “Sure!” Schmitt-Matzen replied.
The little boy then sat up and embraced Santa in a big hug. “Santa, can you help me?” were his last words.
“I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there,” Schmitt-Matzen said. “He was in my arms when I felt him pass.”
“I kind of looked up in the air, and tears started coming down my face… I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to him.”
After handing the little boy back to his mother Schmitt-Matzen, left the hospital immediately. The experience had completely shaken him and he wept the entire drive back home.
“I spent four years in the Army with the 75th Rangers, and I’ve seen my share of [stuff]. But I ran by the nurses’ station bawling my head off. “I even had to pull over a couple of times,” he said.
Schmitt-Matzen was so shaken that he considered leaving Santa Claus behind forever. He decided to become a professional Santa six years ago after a gig for his local church. He studied at ‘Santa School’ before becoming an independent Santa Claus.
Courtesy: Daily Mail