James Burnett offers his services for free to kids in need.
ROCKWALL, Texas — ‘Twas two days before Christmas and with Santa approaching fast, there was one little question that had to be asked: Do you even lift, bro?
Typically, Santa’s heaviest lift is milk and cookies, and since exercise isn’t a priority, he ended up in rehab. Cardiac rehab.
“He’s trying to get his health up and going so I can deliver all the presents Christmas Eve,” Santa Claus stand-in James Burnett said.
Burnett, as he’s known outside the North Pole, has been suiting up as the big guy for 30 years, often for families who can’t afford it.
However, it was during the off-season that a friendly elf, who happens to be a nurse, paid him a visit and noticed something amiss.
“She says, ‘James, you are having a heart attack,’” Burnett recalled.
He felt chest pains and numbness, the first of two heart attacks, actually.
That’s how the jolly old elf ended up at Texas Health Rockwall’s cardiac rehab.
“I saw him and I was like, ‘he looks super familiar. I know you from somewhere,’” said cardiac rehab coordinator Steven Rios. “Sure enough, Santa.”
Burnett comes to rehab a few times a week and all his working out is working out. His blood pressure and blood sugar have gone down, not to mention the bowl full of jelly.
“I’m actually dropping a few pounds,” Burnett said. “Not too many. We don’t want a skinny Santa Claus now.”
Rios said whatever size he may be, Burnett doesn’t just look the part.
“You’re around him for five minutes and you already feel good,” Rios said. “He just radiates joy.”
It’s the same kind of joy he spreads for free. Any kid who wants to meet Santa, Burnett never charges. It’s his gift to them.
In return, all he asks for is a smile.
“You don’t know what a child is going through for 364 days a year,” he said. “If I can put a smile on their face for just a few minutes that’s all the payment I need right there.”
Spreading joy: the key to a strong heart.
And cardio, of course.