The following story was published on December 12, 2106.A terminally ill 5-year-old had the chance to ask a Tennessee Santa Claus for one last Christmas wish last month, moments before he died in the man's arms.Eric Schmitt-Matzen, a 60-year-old Saint Nick look-alike who does dozens of events annually, said he was called to a hospital by a nurse who told him there was "a very sick 5-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus," according to a report in the Knoxville News Sentinel. When he arrived, Schmitt-Matzen said he found the boy "laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep." He gave him a special Paw Patrol toy provided by the family as they settled in for a special chat.The boy asked him for help knowing what to do when he died, to which Schmitt-Matzen responded: "When you get there, you tell ’em you’re Santa’s No. 1 elf, and I know they’ll let you in." After a brief exchange and a hug, he said the boy asked, "Santa, can you help me?""I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there. I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding onto him," Schmitt-Matzen recalled. "Everyone outside the room realized what happened. His mother ran in. She was screaming, ‘No, no, not yet!’ I handed her son back and left as fast as I could."Schmitt-Matzen left the hospital in tears. And given how deeply it affected him, he wondered if he "might crack up and never be able to play the part again."But after a recent job, he said he decided to continue his work to bring joy into children's lives, no matter the emotional toll."When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold," he said. "It made me realize the role I have to play — for them and for me."Schmitt-Matzen recounts the heartbreaking exchange in the video below. Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy before you press play.