The things I asked Santa for when I was a kid were probably fairly typical… bicycle, pogo stick…pet velociraptor… y’know normal kid stuff. I was lucky, I had nothing more to worry about than where I would keep my velociraptor and how I was going to construct the saddle for the dinosaur races when my cousin got his pterodactyl.
Some children aren’t so lucky however, and they have a bit more to worry about than dinosaur races. Some children have far more serious concerns.
Young Levi is one such child
For Levi, his mind is not only on what he WANTS, but what he NEEDS.
Levi is on the waitlist for a new kidney. This means that while he is in need of help, he is at the mercy of fate. It may be a long time before a suitable donor can offer this brave young guy a kidney.
One day, mother Julie Kay Ryff brought three children including Levi to a Bass Pro shop in Olathe Kansas. As there was a Santa there, it was time for the kids to take their photos with Santa.
It all started off as a routine Santa visit. But it didn’t end up being very routine.
“We had a very unique and wonderful experience tonight when we went to see Santa at Bass Pro in Olathe. After the kids took their picture, they got off Santa’s lap and he asked each of the kids what they wanted for Christmas.”
But Santa received a request which he probably wasn’t expecting…
When Julia spoke on Levi’s behalf, she didn’t ask for a bicycle or a pogo stick. She obviously didn’t ask for a velociraptor! When she spoke to Santa about what Levi needed for Christmas she spoke from the heart, saying:
“He doesn’t talk much, but he’s on the kidney transplant list, so he would like a new kidney for Christmas”
The look on Santa’s face confirmed that he was not expecting to hear that!
Santa reached straight out for Levi and replaced him on his lap. After putting one arm around Levi, and gently placing his remaining hand on Levi’s belly, he began to pray for him. Julia was taken aback by the generous gesture.
“It was the most heartfelt, sincere prayer.”
She couldn’t have known that this Santa would have cared this much. It would be easy for an unsuspecting Santa to avoid the question at hand or shirk responsibility knowing that there’s nothing he could do for the boy, but this considerate Santa showed a lot of heart when this moment came for him.
After giving Levi a big hug and placing him back down, he looked back to Julia and connected with her.
“He looked me in the eye and squeezed my hand. I walked away crying.”
This experience was so moving for a mother who wants her son to be happy and healthy.
While this story has attracted much attention online since the Santa encounter in 2018 and touched a huge amount of people, young Levi is still on the wait list.
“A year later, this is still making rounds! We saw this sweet Santa again the other day and got to meet Mrs. Claus as well ❤️ Still praying for a miracle for our sweet Levi.”
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