Santa impersonator Eric Schmitt-Matzen was asked to go to the bedside of the sick boy. Photo / Facebook
Santa impersonator Eric Schmitt-Matzen was asked to go to the bedside of the sick boy. Photo / Facebook
A man who appeared as Santa Claus at the bedside of a terminally ill child has spoken of his distress after the little boy died in his arms.
Eric Schmitt-Matzen, from Knoxville, Tennessee, said he "cried all the way home" after the meeting with the 5-year-old.
The tragic encounter began after Schmitt-Matzen, 60, who works part-time as a Santa Claus impersonator, was called by a nurse to ask him if he could appear at short notice at the boy's hospital bedside.
He met the child's mother and several family members, he told USA Today.
"She'd bought a toy from [the TV show] Paw Patrol and wanted me to give it to him," he said. "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.' "
Donning his Father Christmas outfit he entered the intensive care unit alone while the family waited outside.
"When I walked in, 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!
"I gave him the present. He was so weak he could barely open the wrapping paper. When he saw what was inside, he flashed a big smile and 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 makes on average 80 appearances a year as Santa and has cultivated his own snowy white beard that he bleaches regularly. Photo / Facebook
"He kinda sat up and gave me a big hug and asked one more question: 'Santa, can you help me?'
"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 realised 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."
Schmitt-Matzen, an army veteran, said he left the room in floods of tears.
"I know nurses and doctors see things like that every day, but I don't know how they can take it.'"
Schmitt-Matzen, who makes on average 80 appearances a year as Santa and has cultivated his own snowy white beard that he bleaches regularly, said he considered stopping after the heart-wrenching experience.
But he said that after he forced himself to make another appearance he realised he had to carry on.
"When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold. It made me realise the role I have to play. For them and for me."
