DAVENPORT, Iowa — Santa's sleight was getting tuned up Christmas Eve, so he arrived at Davenport's Genesis Medical Center by firetruck instead.
"The kids have been very, very good," Santa said. "The list of good kids just keeps getting longer and longer every year."
For more than 20 years, Santa has teamed up with the Davenport Fire Department to bring gifts to kids spending the holidays in the hospital.
"It's one of the best traditions we have in the DFD," said Lieutenant Fire Marshall Zach Soliz. "This is something where we can bring that smile to a face. "Be festive, have some fun, do some shopping, make some things personal and not worry about that emergent side of things."
"Life doesn't always give everyone the best situations, and so if we could do a little bit to bring a smile to someone's face today, that is very important to us," Santa said.
On the third floor sits the pediatric unit where 4-month-old Jackson is battling RSV. His parents said that he began coughing on Tuesday, then his symptoms worsened by Thursday and they decided to go to the hospital.
"He was trying to cry and no noise was coming out," said Jackson's dad Bailey Peters. "It was just gasping and he was inconsolable, which is a normal for him."
It's been a scary past few days for the Peters family, but their little boy is on the mend and is expected to be released Christmas Eve evening.
Before concluding his trip, Santa introduced himself to the newborns of the birth center and gave them their first-ever holiday gifts, custom-made onesies.