Santa Claus arrived Monday to visit children at UPMC Harrisburg ahead of Christmas Day.
Leaving his reindeer and sleigh behind at the North Pole, Santa Claus arrived via Stat MedEvac helicopter Monday to visit pediatric patients at UPMC Harrisburg.
“This is one of our favorite traditions at UPMC,” said the hospital’s president Elizabeth Ritter, who added that the hospital has been bringing in Santa in the weeks before Christmas for years.
With a sack full of toys, Santa paid personal visits to children in the hospital’s pediatric unit and emergency department ahead of Christmas Day.
“We pray that every one of them is better,” Santa said. “We pray that they’re able to enjoy Christmas at home next year.”
Kami Huynh, of Linglestown, has been in the hospital for 10 days with her 6-month-old son, Kai. She emphasized seeing Santa raised her family’s spirits as her son receives treatment for botulism, contracted from an unknown source.
“I can’t believe he came all the way down here from the North Pole,” Huynh said.
Santa stopped by Kai’s room to gift him a stuffed animal.
“Now he can cuddle his little stuffy in his bed while he gets better,” his mother said.
Santa also thanked the doctors and nurses for their work helping the sick children before leaving the pediatric floor.
Santa gifts a stuffed toy duck to Julien, a patient in the pediatric unit at UPMC Harrisburg.
To learn more about UPMC Harrisburg, visit its website.
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