Heart-wrenching Moment Terminally Ill Five-Year-Old Boy Dies in Santa’s Arms

This is the heartbreaking story of a terminally ill five-year-old boy who died in Santa’s arms after fulfilling his final wish of seeing him.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, 60, plays Santa at 80 different gigs every year, but over a month ago, he got a phone call that he will never forget.

Mr Schmitt-Matzen told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he had just gotten home from work one day, when he got an urgent phone call. It was a nurse who worked at a Tennessee hospital where he often spreads joy and Christmas cheer. The nurse said there was a ‘very sick five-year-old boy’ who wanted to see Santa Claus.

Immediately, he told the nurse he would change into his suit and come right away, but she said the boy didn’t have much time left. “Your Santa suspenders are good enough,” the nurse said. “Come right now.”

After 15 minutes, Mr Schmitt-Matzen arrived. The boy’s mother held out a toy from the popular children’s show PAW Patrol, and asked him to give it to her son.

As the boy’s relatives watched from a window looking into the Intensive Care Unit, Mr Schmitt-Matzen walked inside and saw the boy.

“He was laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep.

“I sat down on his bed and asked, ‘Say, what’s this I hear about you’re gonna miss Christmas? There’s no way you can miss Christmas’.

“Why, you’re my Number One elf!’,” he said.

Then, the little boy looked up at him and his perfect Santa Claus beard and asked: ‘I am?’

Mr Schmitt-Matzen assured the child that he was, and then gave him the toy. He described the moment the boy opened the present. “When he saw what was inside, he flashed a big smile and laid his head back down,” he said.

The little boy then asked him, “They say I’m gonna die. How can I tell when I get to where I’m going?”

He then 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 child asked.

“Sure!” he replied.

The little boy then sat up and gave him a big hug before giving him one more question: “Santa, can you help me?”

But, it would be his final words.

Mr Schmitt-Matzen told DailyMail.com the unforgettable moment the boy died in his arms.

“I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there. He was in my arms when I felt him pass. I kinda looked up in the air, and tears started coming down my face. I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to him,” he said.

Mr Schmitt-Matzen said everyone outside the room then realised what had just happened, and the little boy’s mother ran into the room screaming. “I handed her son back and left as fast as I could,” he said, saying the entire experience completely rattled him and made him cry the entire drive back home.

He said he was so affected that he even considered leaving Santa Claus behind for good, despite becoming a professional Santa six years ago and even studying at ‘Santa School’ before he was allowed to become a fully fledged Santa Claus. But he decided to continue being an inspiration to many as what had inspired him to wear Father Christmas’ suit in the first place.

“When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold. It made me realize the role I have to play,” he said.

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk and Kidspot.com.au