Bells were jingling in the hallways of Bryan Medical Center’s East Campus Wednesday morning. Santa Claus stopped by to spread some holiday cheer to the littlest patients and their families in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Babies can be in the NICU for weeks or even months at a time and frequently spend their first Christmas in the hospital. Santa says it’s something he looks forward to every year. “Not every kid can come see Santa and so this is a great opportunity for Santa to come see the little babes. It’s real uplifting experience for the parents to get the first picture with Santa that we all cherish.”
He went from room-to-room delivering goody bags to the parents and a special Christmas ornament for each child. Latasha Torres has been in the NICU since early November with her second set of twins in three years.
She says getting a visit from Saint Nick means a lot. “That was sweet . It gives us a little bit of hope. It’s been a long, hard journey so far and just being able to share a little bit of brightness is nice.”
The NICU at Bryan Health opened in 2008 and has cared for thousands of premature babies and their families.
(Photos: KLIN News )