jwitten82
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Terminally ill 5-year-old boy had his final wish fulfilled, dying in the arms of Santa Claus after he was afraid he would miss Christmas.
Schmitt-Matze told NBC affiliate WBIR in an emotional interview Monday how he answered the call to grant one child's final wish to see Saint Nick before he died.
"When I got there, it was my job to make sure he got Christmas," Schmitt-Matzen told WBIR through tears.
"He was more concerned about missing Christmas, than dying," Schmitt-Matzen told WBIR.
The boy's mother gave him a gift to give the boy, "something he was always wanting," he said, toys from the children's animated series PAW Patrol.
"What's this I hear you're going to be missing Christmas this year?" Schmitt-Matzen said he asked the boy.
That's when the boy told him he heard he was going to die.
"Well, you're not going to miss Christmas, the elves already had your present, we knew you wanted this for a long time," he said he told the boy.
"Really?" the boy asked, according to Schmitt-Matzen.
He then gave the boy his gift "and that put a grin on his face," he said.
Schmitt-Matzen choked up as he told WBIR that he told the boy "When you get up those pearly gates, you just tell them you're Santa's number one elf."
"I am?" the boy asked, perking up, according to Schmitt-Matzen.
"You sure are, I'm sure they'll let you right in," he said.
The boy then gave him a big hug, he said, and "he just looked at me and said, Santa, can you help me?"
"And that's when he passed," Schmitt-Matzen said.
After the boy died, his mother ran back into the room screaming, and he left as fast as he 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," he told the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Schmitt-Matzen said he was ready to hang up his Santa suit for good in despair, but found the strength for one more children's 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," he told the Sentinel. "For them and for me."
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...s-arms-n695096
Schmitt-Matze told NBC affiliate WBIR in an emotional interview Monday how he answered the call to grant one child's final wish to see Saint Nick before he died.
"When I got there, it was my job to make sure he got Christmas," Schmitt-Matzen told WBIR through tears.
"He was more concerned about missing Christmas, than dying," Schmitt-Matzen told WBIR.
The boy's mother gave him a gift to give the boy, "something he was always wanting," he said, toys from the children's animated series PAW Patrol.
"What's this I hear you're going to be missing Christmas this year?" Schmitt-Matzen said he asked the boy.
That's when the boy told him he heard he was going to die.
"Well, you're not going to miss Christmas, the elves already had your present, we knew you wanted this for a long time," he said he told the boy.
"Really?" the boy asked, according to Schmitt-Matzen.
He then gave the boy his gift "and that put a grin on his face," he said.
Schmitt-Matzen choked up as he told WBIR that he told the boy "When you get up those pearly gates, you just tell them you're Santa's number one elf."
"I am?" the boy asked, perking up, according to Schmitt-Matzen.
"You sure are, I'm sure they'll let you right in," he said.
The boy then gave him a big hug, he said, and "he just looked at me and said, Santa, can you help me?"
"And that's when he passed," Schmitt-Matzen said.
After the boy died, his mother ran back into the room screaming, and he left as fast as he 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," he told the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Schmitt-Matzen said he was ready to hang up his Santa suit for good in despair, but found the strength for one more children's 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," he told the Sentinel. "For them and for me."
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...s-arms-n695096
