Texas State Guard delivers presents to sick children

They fight to keep us safe but right now they're fighting to put a smile on a face.

Off they go into the halls of Saint David's North Austin Medical Center. The first stop, seven-year-old Alexandria Ramos' room. She got a few presents, including her favorite, Shopkins.

“Basically you have to put a card in there and then you have to guess was Shopkin you're putting on when it's your turn and the other person has to give you hints,” said seven-year-old Alexandria Ramos.

It's been a rough few days for her.
“She has pneumonia so I took her to the ER last night and she got transferred here,” said Jeri Ramos, Alexandria’s mother.

But Santa's troops come in with a friendly reminder of what time of year it is.
Just down the hall, is little Elijah.

“He just randomly started having seizures a few days ago,” said Constance Emmanuel, Elijah’s mom.

But he is improving day by day. Add in a few toys and recovery is on the way.

“I’m very thankful. We don't live here, we're from out of town. We're visiting. So for him to be in the hospital and we're out from home, we're very thankful,” said Emmanuel.

Santa's troops dropped off 5,150 toys at the hospital. For the parents, the gesture goes beyond material things.

“We've felt nothing but love from the staff here and my son, he feels so well taken care of,” said Emmanuel.

If the families and kids could forget about their circumstances for at least a moment, the troops have done their jobs.

This will continue. The troops will make their last drop-off on the day after Christmas. They will go to hospitals, shelters and orphanages statewide. They expect to deliver in total, 30,000 toys.