Santa Claus must by now be used to bringing smiles, but one merry East Tennessean never expected to bring this much joy.
Eric Schmitt-Matzen's story has gone viral this week, after a he shared a recent experience in a Sunday Knoxville News Sentinel column by Sam Venable.
Schmitt-Manzen recounted how he was called to the hospital bedside of a dying boy about six weeks ago.The child would not make it to Christmas, and his last wish was to meet Santa.
"He gave me a big hug, and looked up and said, 'Santa, can you help me?'" Schmitt-Matzen said. "And that's when he passed."
Since then, his story has aired across the country. He says he's been overwhelmed by folks reaching out to him.
"Just ridiculous," he said. "The outpouring of love like you wouldn't believe. I'm humbled, embarrassed. I wasn't looking for recognition."
Still, Schmitt-Matzen says he won't reveal any details of the moment, including the hospital. He says he made a promise, and it wouldn't be right.
"I'm a man of my word, and I'm going to stand by it," he said.
Now, he has a message for the millions impacted by what he shared.
"I just told what happened to me on an unfortunate situation," he said. "The fact that people recognized when they heard the story, maybe they could be a little better, love a little more -- that's a good thing, right?"