This is just simply gut-wrenching.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, a Knoxville, Tennessee, man who is professionally trained to portray Santa Claus, recently granted the final wish of a terminally ill child who wanted to see Santa.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Schmitt-Matzen was called to the hospital to visit a five-year-old boy nearing his death. He entered the room with a toy and recalled the following back-and-forth exchange.

This Santa wasn’t ready for this role. A terminally ill child died in his arms. ‘I cried all the way home.’ https://t.co/oBvP8mlXYJ pic.twitter.com/IGSoFcRZvq

— Tom Leyden (@newshawk) December 12, 2016

“‘They say I’m gonna die,’ he told me. ‘How can I tell when I get to where I’m going?’

“I said, ‘Can you do me a big favor?’

“He said, ‘Sure!’

“When you get there, you tell ’em you’re Santa’s Number One elf, and I know they’ll let you in.

“He said, ‘They will?’

“I said, ‘Sure!’

“He kinda sat up and gave me a big hug and asked one more question: ‘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 on to him.

“I cried all the way home,” Schmitt-Matzen said. “I was crying so hard, I had a tough time seeing good enough to drive.”

The experience was so troubling for him that he even thought about hanging up his suit, but he said he realized that he has an important role to play in the lives of children.

To read the original story, click here.