<div>Christmas may be weeks away but a terminally ill 5-year-old boy in the US state of Tennessee had his last wish fulfilled, dying in the arms of Santa Claus after he was afraid that he would miss Christmas.<br /><br />Eric Schmitt-Matzen, whose 136-kg frame and real white beard and curled mustache make him a popular Santa in Knoxville city.<br /><br />"When I got there, it was my job to make sure he got Christmas," Schmitt-Matzen told NBC affiliate WBIR channel through tears.<br /><br />Schmitt-Matzen said he had just returned home from work about a month and a half ago a when a nurse at a local hospital called him and said she had a very sick child who wanted to see Santa.<br /><br />"He was more concerned about missing Christmas, than dying," Schmitt-Matzen said.<br /><br />After he arrived at the hospital room within 15 minutes, Schmitt-Matzen asked the boy, "What's this I hear you're going to be missing Christmas this year?"<br /><br />That's when the boy told him he heard he was going to die.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />"Really?" the boy asked, according to Schmitt-Matzen.<br /><br />He then gave the boy the gift his mother had given "and that put a grin on his face," he said.<br /><br />Schmitt-Matzen choked up as he said that he told the boy "When you get up those pearly gates, you just tell them you're Santa's number one elf."<br /><br />"I am?" the boy asked, perking up, according to Schmitt- Matzen.<br /><br />"You sure are, I'm sure they'll let you right in," he said.<br /><br />The boy then gave him a big hug, he said, and "he just looked at me and said, Santa, can you help me?"<br /><br />"And that's when he passed," Schmitt-Matzen said.<br /><br />Schmitt-Matzen first told the sad story to Knoxville News Sentinel and it has since gained national attention.<br /><br />He said that after the boy died in his arms, he left the hospital as fast as he could.<br /><br />"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 paper.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />"When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold. It made me realise the role I have to play," said the part-time Santa, whose Facebook page has been flooded with likes. "For them and for me."</div>
<div>Christmas may be weeks away but a terminally ill 5-year-old boy in the US state of Tennessee had his last wish fulfilled, dying in the arms of Santa Claus after he was afraid that he would miss Christmas.<br /><br />Eric Schmitt-Matzen, whose 136-kg frame and real white beard and curled mustache make him a popular Santa in Knoxville city.<br /><br />"When I got there, it was my job to make sure he got Christmas," Schmitt-Matzen told NBC affiliate WBIR channel through tears.<br /><br />Schmitt-Matzen said he had just returned home from work about a month and a half ago a when a nurse at a local hospital called him and said she had a very sick child who wanted to see Santa.<br /><br />"He was more concerned about missing Christmas, than dying," Schmitt-Matzen said.<br /><br />After he arrived at the hospital room within 15 minutes, Schmitt-Matzen asked the boy, "What's this I hear you're going to be missing Christmas this year?"<br /><br />That's when the boy told him he heard he was going to die.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />"Really?" the boy asked, according to Schmitt-Matzen.<br /><br />He then gave the boy the gift his mother had given "and that put a grin on his face," he said.<br /><br />Schmitt-Matzen choked up as he said that he told the boy "When you get up those pearly gates, you just tell them you're Santa's number one elf."<br /><br />"I am?" the boy asked, perking up, according to Schmitt- Matzen.<br /><br />"You sure are, I'm sure they'll let you right in," he said.<br /><br />The boy then gave him a big hug, he said, and "he just looked at me and said, Santa, can you help me?"<br /><br />"And that's when he passed," Schmitt-Matzen said.<br /><br />Schmitt-Matzen first told the sad story to Knoxville News Sentinel and it has since gained national attention.<br /><br />He said that after the boy died in his arms, he left the hospital as fast as he could.<br /><br />"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 paper.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />"When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold. It made me realise the role I have to play," said the part-time Santa, whose Facebook page has been flooded with likes. "For them and for me."</div>