WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Computer company gives kids chance to talk to Santa from MA hospital

Computer company gives kids chance to talk to Santa from MA hospital

(Boston, Massachusetts-NBC) Dec. 17, 2004 - Some Boston children too sick to leave the hospital got their own chance to see Santa before Christmas.

For the first time Santa made a very special "Cyber Stop" at Children's Hospital. Rob Lopez of Cisco Systems explains, "What we are doing is connecting kids with the North Pole, and we are doing it with the magic of the Internet."

Cisco Systems of California donated their technology for the day to allow patients and visitors of the hospital to link up with Old St. Nick, "What they do is they step up to the phone, simply push a speed dial button and over the Internet they are connected to the North Pole."

Each child got to spend a few minutes talking to Santa, even getting to put in those last minute special requests.

Mary Sethnat, a patient's mother, says it was a way to add a little more cheer to a sometimes scary place, "Being here is somewhat unpleasant this time of year, and he is missing things at school and things in the family, but experiencing Santa in person and being able to talk to him on the phone has really been a great experience."

posted 9:51am by Chris Rees