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<\/p>\nI\u2019ve always wondered just how much fun those who play Santa have each year during the festive season.<\/p>\n
It can\u2019t be an easy gig \u2013 the mere pressure of living up to the expectations of every child you see would buckle me \u2013 but there certainly must be a grand sense of satisfaction at the end of each day.<\/p>\n
posterposter
\nAfter all, a good Santa has the power to bring a smile to the faces of all little ones, no matter their mood, and just knowing they\u2019re instilling a sense of magic in a world that so desperately needs it must be like a healing balm for the soul.<\/p>\n
Yet few Santas have ever faced such a trying, tragic situation as Eric Schmitt-Matzen, mechanical engineer and co-owner of Packaging Seals & Engineering, who turns out as Father Christmas for events and gigs every year.<\/p>\n
As per reports, Eric had just arrived home from work one day in 2016, when he received an urgent call from a hospital in Tennessee.<\/p>\n
Eric revealed to the press that a nurse was on the other end of the line, and she had called him because there was a terminally ill five-year-old boy at the hospital whose final wish was to meet Santa.<\/p>\n
Eric rushed to the hospital and met with the boy\u2019s mother, who handed him a gift her son had specifically asked for that Christmas: a Paw Patrol figurine. Eric took the gift, asking the boy\u2019s family to wait outside while he met the little boy \u2013 he didn\u2019t want to cry in front of the child if his family grew emotional.<\/p>\n
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According to Eric\u2019s account, he then entered the ICU, sat at the end of the boy\u2019s bed, and asked: \u201cWhat\u2019s this I hear you\u2019re going to be missing Christmas this year?\u201d<\/p>\n
After opening his gift, the boy replied: \u201cThey say I\u2019m gonna die. How can I tell when I get to where I\u2019m going?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric reportedly then asked the boy to do him a special favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get up to them Pearly Gates, you just tell them you\u2019re Santa\u2019s Number One elf, and I know they\u2019ll let you in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The little boy sat up in his bed and gave Eric a big hug. Eric later told the press that the five-year-old then passed away in his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in my arms when I felt him pass,\u201d the man explained.<\/p>\n
CHILD WITH CANCER DIES IN SANTA’S ARMS! \ud83c\udf85\ud83c\udffc\ud83d\ude14.A very sad experience lived a 60-year-old man, who works as Santa Claus\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent four years in the Army with the 75th Rangers, and I\u2019ve seen my share of (stuff). But I ran by the nurses\u2019 station bawling my head off.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to sources, Eric\u2019s heartbreaking experience left him questioning whether or not he wanted to continue to be Santa. After forcing himself to attend an event the following day, however, he was reminded of just made convinced him to take on the mantle in the first place\u2026 the love, laughter and joy of the children he meets.<\/p>\n