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Eric Schmitt-Matzen rushed to a local in Tennessee hospital after receiving a call about a terminally ill five-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus.

The 60-year-old impersonator said he gave the child a present and a big hug before holding him as he died.

The boy's family watched on from the hallway as they cried, he told the BBC.

"When I felt the life go from him, I looked up, tears running down my face, and looked over at the window and that's when mom started screaming," he said.

Mr Schmitt-Matzen said he had asked family members to remain outside the room if they were going to break into tears when he arrived for the visit.

"I have to be the happy guy that makes this kid feel great and smile and forget his worries," he said.

"I said: 'If you're going to lose it, you have step out in the hallway and afterwards, I'll stand out in the hall and cry with you.'"

The boy asked him where he was going after he died, and Mr Schmitt-Matzen told him he was "Santa's Number One elf" and he would be welcomed.

The child then sat up to give his visitor a hug and he asked one final question: "Santa, can you help me?"

Moments later, he passed away in Mr Schmitt-Matzen's arms.

"It's still tough to relive," he told the BBC.

When asked if he would continue to put on the red suit, Mr Schmitt-Matzen said: "If somebody calls I'll do it. It hurts, but I'll do it."

mikes*corvettes · ‎13-12-2016

Not one to show emotion but after I read that story my eyes filled up.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/12/12/terminally-ill-child-dies-in-santas-arms.html

Anonymous · ‎13-12-2016

Lovely story.

littleme61_6 · ‎13-12-2016

Very sad, but so touching indeed.

cottage-garden.1278 · ‎14-12-2016

What a wonderful human being.

cee-dee · ‎14-12-2016

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28623367

It's life Jim, but not as WE know it.
Live long and prosper.

jd.linklater · ‎15-12-2016

@al**bear wrote:
If this doesn't move You - You're dead inside

Santa Claus fulfilled a dying boy's Christmas wish by visiting him at his bedside, before the youngster passed away in his arms.
Eric Schmitt-Matzen rushed to a local in Tennessee hospital after receiving a call about a terminally ill five-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus.
The 60-year-old impersonator said he gave the child a present and a big hug before holding him as he died.
The boy's family watched on from the hallway as they cried, he told the BBC.
"When I felt the life go from him, I looked up, tears running down my face, and looked over at the window and that's when mom started screaming," he said.
Mr Schmitt-Matzen said he had asked family members to remain outside the room if they were going to break into tears when he arrived for the visit.
"I have to be the happy guy that makes this kid feel great and smile and forget his worries," he said.
"I said: 'If you're going to lose it, you have step out in the hallway and afterwards, I'll stand out in the hall and cry with you.'"

The boy asked him where he was going after he died, and Mr Schmitt-Matzen told him he was "Santa's Number One elf" and he would be welcomed.
The child then sat up to give his visitor a hug and he asked one final question: "Santa, can you help me?"
Moments later, he passed away in Mr Schmitt-Matzen's arms.
"It's still tough to relive," he told the BBC.
When asked if he would continue to put on the red suit, Mr Schmitt-Matzen said: "If somebody calls I'll do it. It hurts, but I'll do it."

Just read on MSN that this story seems to be a complete fake. No hospital in the area where it's supposed to have happened can verify the story.

There are some sad people out there.

al**bear · ‎16-12-2016

Listed in Snopes as - UNPROVEN

In a note published online Wednesday, Venable and News Sentinel editor Jack McElroy said they were unable to verify the account after it was published because Schmitt-Matzen refused to provide the identities of the child’s family or the nurse who purportedly called him to the hospital, which is not named in the story.

“The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzen’s account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate,” McElroy and Venable wrote. “Therefore, because the story does not meet the newspaper’s standards of verification, we are no longer standing by the veracity of Schmitt-Matzen’s account.”