So sad. So beautiful. A Xmas story.

[birdhouse]

"(CNN) Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Sam Venable knew he'd found a sad story, but he didn't know just how many hearts it would break.

 

Venable's column about a terminally ill 5-year-old boy dying in Santa's arms has spread everywhere since its publication Sunday in the Tennessee newspaper. Among other things, it nails the emotional richness of the holiday season.

"I've gotten a big response to this," Venable told CNN. "People have told me that they were crying when they read it, and I tell them that I was crying when I wrote it."

It all started several weeks ago when Eric Schmitt-Matzen, the Santa in Venable's column, got a call after work.

"It was a nurse I know at the hospital," Schmitt-Matzen told the News-Sentinel. "She said there was a very sick 5-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus."

Schmitt-Matzen, whose 300-pound frame and real white beard make him a popular Santa in the Knoxville area, got to the hospital in 15 minutes and requested that anyone leave the room if they were about to cry.

In his column, Venable relayed Schmitt-Matzen's brief interaction with the boy:

'"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 favor?'"

"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!'"

"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."

After the boy's family realized that he had died, Schmitt-Matzen said he left the hospital and cried all the way home.

"I was a basket case for three days. It took me a week or two to stop thinking about it all the time," he told the News-Sentinel. "Actually, I thought I might crack up and never be able to play the part again."

Schmitt-Matzen considered hanging up his red suit but saw some children laughing and playing and then changed his mind.

"It made me realize the role I have to play," said the part-time Santa, whose Facebook page has been flooded with likes. "For them and for me."

His is not your traditional feel-good Christmas story. Still, we're certainly glad it was told."

 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/living/santa-terminally-ill-boy-irpt-trnd/index.html

[katana600]

I steeled myself before coming to read this thread. But, I don't look at it so much as sadness as hope. My life has had many twists and turns in recent years and hospice work with loved ones has been prominent. Each person has something they are waiting for, someone to see, a fear to overcome, or permission to let go. This little fellow felt safe in Santa's arms. It was an amazing gift that Santa may come to realize he was asking Santa to help him might not have been to help him heal and live but to help him with a ride in his magic sleigh to a place with pure love, joy and no pain or scary stuff.

[Greywings]

Can't help but shed tears, not for the loss but for the measure of joy and comfort Santa brought him.

[birdhouse]

As adults we turn into __fill__in__your__own__blanks__ . But we start out with enough wonderment & faith* to sustain us even in the face of a hideous death. To me, that deserves more than a few tears of joy & sorrow, both.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Innocent belief at it's most pure & un-corruptible vs in the religious sense.

Edited December 15, 2016 by birdhouse

[Greytness]

I was disheartened to see that there were people trying to poke holes into his beautiful story. Made me feel sick to my stomach.

[birdhouse]

Yes, because w/everything that's going on in the world, this is the story that most needs debunking, right!?!

 

People....make....me....absolutely....crazy....sometimes. Give me a critter everytime.

Edited December 16, 2016 by birdhouse