Santa gave this boy who is blind and autistic the best gift. (I'm not crying, you are.)
This Santa knows that sometimes the best gifts don't come in packages.
In a viral post, Facebook user Misty Wolf shared a story about her son's visit to Santa that has the whole internet in tears.
Wolf's son Matthew is blind, autistic, and genuinely fascinated with Santa Claus. So when she took Matthew to a store to visit Santa, she whispered in the jolly old fella's ear, "he is blind and autistic and really interested in Santa."
"Say no more," said the saintly St. Nick. Then he worked his magic.
Wolf said that Santa "immediately got down on the floor to greet my little man. He talked to Matthew for a long time. Let him feel all over him. Told him to pull his bear, feel his hat and talked about his red suit."
"He asked Matthew if he wanted to feel anything," she wrote, "and Matthew said, 'your eyes that twinkle'" in reference to the poem 'Twas the night before Christmas. So Santa let the boy "touch all over his eyes for as long as Matthew wanted."
Ouch, my heart.
But that wasn't all. Santa went above and beyond for this little boy.
Wolf wrote that after that the Santa asked Matthew if he'd ever felt a real reindeer. "Santa then carried him over to the display area" and "had Matthew pet the taxidermy reindeer they had set up. It was great. My heart was full seeing Matthew so interested."
The photos Wolf shared show how Santa got down on Matthew's level and let him feel his face and beard, and how he showed him his reindeer. The images could not be sweeter.
People with disabilities frequently have to fight for acceptance and inclusion. That's why this story is so heartwarming.
Parents who are raising kids with mental or physical differences face daily challenges in society. From kids who can be cruel, to adults who don't understand, to spaces that make no accommodations for those with disabilities, life can be tough for these families. Many times, things typical families do, like visiting Santa, can be touch and go.
The fact that this Santa knew exactly what to do to make Matthew feel both special and normal at the same time was beautiful. He is a prime example of what acceptance and inclusion look like for kids with disabilities.
As Wolf said, "Best Santa ever!"



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An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.