The story of a Santa who granted a 5-year-old dying boy his final Christmas wish is touching hearts around the world again.
Global (24 December 2022) – A tragic story about a 5-year-old dying in the arms of Santa has resurfaced on social media again.
Eric Schmitt-Matzen’s incredibly heartbreaking story went viral in 2016. Sam Venable first published the article in Knox News but it quickly went global, landing up in TIME, The NY Post and CNN. Although the validity of his account was called into question, the Tennessee Santa still says that every bit of the story of a child dying in his arms is true.
This is Schmitt-Matzen’s story, which is being reshared on social media again:
“I cried all the way home,” Schmitt-Matzen told Sam Venable.
“I was crying so hard, I had a tough time seeing good enough to drive.”
“My wife and I were scheduled to visit our grandchildren in Nashville the next day, but I told her to go by herself. I was a basket case for three days. It took me a week or two to stop thinking about it all the time. Actually, I thought I might crack up and never be able to play the part again.”
Schmitt-Matzen has never really recovered from that ordeal but his story resurfaces every now and then, reminding us how short life can be.
He told the publication that he had just gotten home from work that day when the telephone rang. It was a nurse he knew who worked at the hospital. She said there was a very sick 5-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus.
“I told her, ‘OK, just let me change into my outfit.’ She said, ‘There isn’t time for that. Your Santa suspenders are good enough. Come right now.’ “
The Tennessee Santa got to the hospital in just 15 minutes. He met the child’s mother and several family members. The mom had bought a toy from Paw Patrol and wanted him to give it to the 5-year-old.
“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.'”
Apparently, nobody entered with him. They watched, sobbing, from a hallway window in the Intensive Care Unit. When he walked in, he says the little kid was lying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep. Schmitt-Matzen sat down on his bed and said to him that there was no way he could miss Christmas!
He called him his Number One elf!
“He looked up and said, ‘I am?’
“I said, ‘Sure!’
The Santa gave him the present. He recalls that the young boy looked so weak he could barely open the wrapping paper but Schmitt-Matzen says that when he saw what was inside, he flashed a big smile and then laid his head back down.
‘”They say I’m gonna die,’ he told me. ‘How can I tell when I get to where I’m going?’
“I said, ‘Can you do me a big favour?’
“He said, ‘Sure!’
“When you get there, you tell ’em you’re Santa’s Number One elf, and I know they’ll let you in.
“He said, ‘They will?’
“I said, ‘Sure!’
Schmitt-Matzen says that the young boy sat up and gave him a big hug and asked one more question… if Santa could help him.
“I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there. I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to him. Everyone outside the room realized what happened. His mother ran in. She was screaming, ‘No, no, not yet!’ I handed her son back and left as fast as I could.”
“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 know nurses and doctors see things like that every day, but I don’t know how they can take it.'”
Venable says that in his despair, the Tennessee Santa was ready to hang up his suit.
“I’m just not cut out for this,” he reasoned.
But he mustered the strength to work one more show.
“When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold. It made me realize the role I have to play.
“For them and for me.”
Watch an interview with Schmitt-Matzen on NBC below:
Since the publication of the story in 2016, the News Sentinel and Knox News published an editor’s note.
The News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify Schmitt-Matzen’s account. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified. The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzen’s account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate.
Schmitt-Matzen told news outlets that he stands by his account. He would not name the nurse or boy due to their privacy.
“If some people want to call me a liar … I can handle that better than I can handle a child in my arms dying,” he said. “It’s sticks and stones.”
Is the story too good to be true? Schmitt-Matzen will tell you it’s the truth and many social media users seem to think so as it is still popping up six years later.
And maybe that’s all that matters.
The story is a reminder that life is fleeting and we need to cherish our loved ones, not only in the festive season but every single moment we are given.
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