5-year-old boy with terminal illness gets his final wish, then passes away in Santa’s arms

I’ve always wondered just how much fun those who play Santa have each year during the festive season.

It can’t be an easy gig – the mere pressure of living up to the expectations of every child you see would buckle me – but there certainly must be a grand sense of satisfaction at the end of each day.

After 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’re instilling a sense of magic in a world that so desperately needs it must be like a healing balm for the soul.

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.

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.

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.

Eric rushed to the hospital and met with the boy’s 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’s family to wait outside while he met the little boy – he didn’t want to cry in front of the child if his family grew emotional.

According to Eric’s account, he then entered the ICU, sat at the end of the boy’s bed, and asked: “What’s this I hear you’re going to be missing Christmas this year?”

After opening his gift, the boy replied: “They say I’m gonna die. How can I tell when I get to where I’m going?”

Eric reportedly then asked the boy to do him a special favor.