Cisco Brings Joy for One Very Special Family Reunion

Every year for the last seven years, Cisco and its Santa Connection program have brought video collaboration technologies to hospitals across North America for child patients to virtually connect with Santa Claus in the North Pole.

The children get the opportunity to ask Santa what they want for Christmas either by video chatting on iPads using Cisco Jabber or through Cisco TelePresence and mobile carts. For these children, it’s a chance to enjoy the holiday season during their hospital stay.

This year, Santa visited U.C. Davis Children’s Hospital virtually on December 12, and spoke with several of the kids – each with unique requests for what they wanted for Christmas.

But one boy named William, who’d been staying at U.C. Davis due to a recent injury, asked Santa for something really special. When it was his turn, he told Santa that all he wanted for Christmas was for his father to come home from Cairo, Egypt.

William’s father has been stationed overseas in the military, but little did William know that his father had been granted leave to come home to see him. So Cisco and U.C. Davis thought they could make their reunion extra special.

On December 19, during William’s dad’s flight back from Cairo, Cisco asked Santa to make a special visit to see William. Santa then brought an iPad to William’s bedside for a call with his dad. Santa told William his dad was currently at the embassy of Cairo – only the call “mysteriously” dropped.

Santa then told William instead to close his eyes and wish for his Dad to be there in person. And just seconds later, William’s dad came through the door!

Needless to say, William, his dad and the rest of the family were overjoyed to have everyone together again.