Santa made a long-awaited return to NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola on Dec. 17 after being a patient there just weeks ago.
Larry and Katherine Burke met the team that gave Larry heart surgery on Nov. 24, and carried on the tradition of giving gifts to young patients struggling with childhood illness.
“Santa Claus is doing great, and I’ll see you all next week, ho ho ho!” said Burke. “I feel like I have a second chance at life.”
After reuniting with the medical team, he greeted a young patient, a 3-year-old, who was receiving medical treatment at the hospital. The Burkes, in full Claus garb, presented the young girl and her brother with dolls, toys and stuffed animals.
The children, accompanied by medical staff and their parents, were overjoyed by the surprise Christmas visit.
“I’ve been hospitalized a number of times in my life, and each time you get more empathy, especially for the kids,” Burke said. “Just seeing them smile makes my heart glow.”
Larry Burke, 74, is a former teacher with a striking resemblance to the Jolly Old Elf. For five years, he has visited the hospital in red and white to deliver presents to the children as part of Project Thank a Cop.
“This is very important to him; it has been for as long as he’s been doing this,” said Katherine Burke. “The fact that he wasn’t able to do this really had him down, even more than the procedure did. So his spirits are up, he’s physically feeling better, but he’s mentally doing much better.”
This November, Larry came to the hospital with severe shortness of breath after months of declining symptoms.
Burke went to NYU Langone, where he received a heart valve replacement. The procedure, a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement or TAVR, was performed by Doctors Darko Boljevic and Richard Schwartz, as well as nurses and medical staff from the TAVR team.
“It’s super convenient, and we have results now that are comparable with open-heart surgery,” said Boljevic about the procedure, “We believe that this [valve] will last at least ten years.”
Burke said he was feeling better only an hour and a half after the surgery, and he was able to visit the hospital last week as Santa to greet the kids.
“It was wonderful, I was so emotional, he said. “When I was delivering toys to the kids, I could see the room where I was a patient two weeks before. I couldn’t believe that I was out here able to do it.”
