ORLANDO, Fla. – Staff members at a Florida hospital raced to save a tiny patient – and a little girl’s Christmas – after the family dog attacked her Elf on the Shelf.
Orlando mother Jenn Thelen said she woke up to the screams of her 7-year-old daughter Aubrie after the family’s German shepherd got ahold of the doll, whose name is Sam, according to a Facebook post Wednesday from the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.
Despite the rosy cheeks and wide holiday smile, the elf’s injuries were serious – the right arm had been completely severed and the left arm, right knee and face were lacerated. With more than two weeks to go before Christmas, Thelen, the nurse manager for the hospital’s emergency department, told her daughter that the “special doctors” on the medical team could save Sam.
While at work that morning, she got some help from her coworkers and gathered expired medical supplies so they could film Sam being prepped for “surgery.” One of the rules of the Elf on the Shelf is that it may lose its magic if touched, so Thelen told Aubrie her team had “magic gloves” that let them work on him.
One of the ER team members stitched Sam back together, and, with a sprinkling of Christmas magic – also known as glitter – Sam was discharged in good condition.
“The magic of Christmas and Sam the Elf continues for Aubrie,” the hospital posted. “Sam is now back on his shelf and mom will definitely make sure that he is out of Zoey’s reach.”
