‘This Is Wonderful’: Grieving Idaho Mom Thanks Secret Santa for Help After Losing Baby and Job

The East Idaho News team, along with the notoriously generous “Secret Santa,” surprised another struggling mom with a lot of much-needed help.

The donor, who has chosen to remain anonymous, teamed up with the local outlet to give $1 million to deserving individuals and families this Christmas season and landed on Susannah as the next recipient.

“Susannah is a nurse and mother of four boys and a one-year-old little girl. One of her boys was stillborn at 36 weeks,” Nate Eaton reported Thursday. “Her life then took an unexpected turn when she fell down in her home. It was discovered that she crushed a vertebrae.”

After three surgeries and infections, Susannah “has not been able to care for her new baby,” Eaton said.

Even with her health struggles and heartbreak, Susannah has “always been compassionate and empathetic to every patient and was a light in the lives of those she dedicated herself to,” the local outlet reported, noting that she spent time working to console other mothers who had lost their babies as she did.

“Her resilience is admirable, and her dedication to continuing to serve despite her struggles has inspired patients and nurses around her,” Eaton added.

Sadly, Susannah can not work her nursing job, as doctors said “she’s no longer physically able.”

Thankfully, Eaton was able to bring her some holiday cheer in the form of significant financial help.

Susannah came to her door with her daughter and was surprised by the East Idaho News camera crew, all decked out in Santa hats.

Eaton first gave her $3,000 in grocery store gift cards.

“Oh my gosh… thank you so much,” the mother said. “Please let whoever did this know how thankful I am.”

She then opened the other gift, a check for $5,000. 

“Oh my gosh, this is wonderful,” Susannah said through her emotions. “This helps this house so much, I can’t even tell you.”

The Secret Santa has been surprising Idaho residents all month long, including a mother of a special needs child, a family who lost everything to a house fire, and a pair of grandparents with health issues.