Santa Grants 5-Year-Old Boy's Last Wish
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UPDATED | December 14, 2016 6 PM
The Knoxville News Sentinel, which originally reported this story (as noted below) now says it is unable to independently verify the account as originally reported. A statement on their web site reads, "Since publication of this story, the News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify Schmitt-Matzen's account. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified. The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzen's account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate."
The paper said "At the time of that initial interview, [Schmitt-Matzen] said he had promised to protect the identities of the child's family and the nurse who summoned him to the hospital bedside. In follow-up interviews, he has continued to hold this position and stand by his account.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A Tennessee Santa Claus says a terminally ill 5-year-old boy died in his arms after he gave the boy a present in the hospital.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports Eric Schmitt-Matzen, who does about 80 events a year as Santa, was asked a few weeks ago to visit the dying boy.
Schmitt-Matzen told the paper, "The telephone rang. It was a nurse I know who works at the hospital. She said there was a very sick 5-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus." He said the nurse told him there was no time to get changed into his costume and that his Santa suspenders will be "good enough" so he quickly headed to the hospital without his typical outfit.
Schmitt-Matzen said after giving the boy a toy, the boy asked how he would be able to tell when he got to where he was going after he died. Schmitt-Matzen told him to tell them he was "Santa's Number One elf" and they would let him in.
He said the boy gave him a big hug, asked "Santa, can you help me?" and died in his arms.
According to the paper Schmitt-Matzen said he cried all the way home. "I was crying so hard, I had a tough time seeing good enough to drive," Schmitt-Matzen told the paper.
Schmitt-Matzen said that he and his wife were scheduled to visit their grandchildren in Nashville the next day. "I told her to go by herself. I was a basket case for three days," he said. "It took me a week or two to stop thinking about it all the time. Actually, I thought I might crack up and never be able to play the part again."
Schmitt-Matzen said it took him days to recover but that he continues to play Santa.
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