Two-year-old with rare disorder gets surprise from Santa during Christmas in July

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two-year-old George just had a surprise visit from someone he didn’t expect to see in July.

On Thursday morning, Santa stopped by and handed him and more than 100 other children an unexpected gift.

It brought a smile to the toddler’s face.

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His mother told Action News Jax that, when George was 5 weeks old he was diagnosed with severe congenital neutropenia.

“His blood does not make white blood cells and so the white blood cells is what fights off infections,” said George’s mother, Amy Mitchell.

Wolfson Children’s Hospital holds the Christmas in July toy drive in the summer, a time when donations typically dwindle.

On Thursday, staff spent the morning sorting toys that will be going to their new patients throughout the year.

The hospital said these toys help children heal.

“For babies, they’re able to reach their developmental milestone because they have toys to play with,” said Pat Kirkand, the Family Support Services manager at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

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Mitchell said just having Santa here keeps her mind off George’s bone marrow transplant on Friday and the months he'll need to stay at the hospital.

“To have special toys like this for him to play with and distract him from everything going on, it really means a lot. It’s great for us and him,” said Mitchell.

You can still donate after Christmas in July by clicking here.

Cox Media Group