Santa Claus, alias Richard Gottschlich, proves that while St. Nick is known for giving gifts, he is also capable of occasionally receiving one — in this case, the gift of restoring his health.
Possessing his own long white beard, Gottslich, who performs as Santa for the Chicago Blackhawks and major events, benefitted from a gift of modern medicine to ensure he’d keep his busy schedule in the month before Christmas.
“What does Santa want?” Gottschlisch repeated a question asked by this reporter Friday while visiting his doctor and care team at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, as passers-by ranging from pre-school children to medical personnel interrupted him every two minutes asking for photos.
“Good peace among people,” he replied, then added “good health.”
Gottschlisch had a health scare in mid-October, just as he was prepping for his busy Christmas season, when a severe and persistent headache landed him in Lutheran General’s Emergency Department. Doctors discovered a brain bleed due to a dural arteriovenous fistula, an abnormal connection between an artery and a vein.
For a few days, he did not know if he’d return to good health, let alone be able to continue his alter ego as Santa.
The concept of “brain surgery” conjures up the traditional image, in interventional neurologist Dr. Marion Oliver’s words, to “make a hole in the skull and retract the brain, a microsurgical technique….That could take several hours.”
Instead, acting quickly as Gottschlisch was in “a lot of trouble with a very serious brain bleed,” Oliver and his Lutheran General medical team performed an endovascular embolization, a minimally invasive neurosurgical procedure.
In it, a series of catheters and wires are inserted near the groin or wrist and threaded through blood vessels to the fistula to break it up. Procedure time is usually an hour or less.
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“I’m a very accepting person,” Gottschlisch said. “You go to the place where there are experts. I always try to look on the bright side of life.”
The medical advancement of working through blood vessels rather than cutting into the skull sped up recovery. Gottschlisch was discharged within a week. Oliver’s long-term prognosis was “good…He will live a normal life.”
But the burning question was: could Santa start up again on schedule? He could not just plunge right back into a busy routine. Gottschlisch’s positive nature – an “aura,” he said, helped him get in red uniform on Nov. 18.
He was helped in his speedy recovery by his wife of 27 years, Paula Biggio, who is packaged with Santa as “Mrs. Claus.” They work many events together. Christmas images of both are featured on their business card, offering their availability for family home visits, corporate events and Christmas Eve.
Their public awaited them after Gottschlisch’s recovery from the medical procedure. Santa worked several Blackhawks games, sitting in a chair constructed from hockey sticks. They are scheduled to attend the Bulls game on Dec. 22. Only a scheduling issue prevented a repeat visit to Soldier Field to boost often put-upon Bears fans.
Mrs. Claus visited Guaranteed Rate Field for a summertime Christmas diversion for White Sox fans. More recently, she visited the Winterland festival, which makes use of both Wrigley Field and the Gallagher Way parkland outside the ballpark for creative cold-weather activities.
A busy schedule of holiday ceremonies — such as Des Plaines’ Christmas Tree lighting — throughout the northwest suburbs kept the couple working hard. Gottschlisch regaining his strength was important, as many suburbs kick off the holiday season with Santa’s arrival on a fire truck.
The couple was momentarily stranded in Bloomingdale when the fire truck had to take off on a call. Fortunately, police soon arrived to serve as a temporary sleigh to their destination.
Gottschlisch carved out his late-career Santa persona after retiring from a 40-year stint at Deluxe Corporation, a Des Plaines commercial printer specializing in business checks. He is also a longtime volunteer veteran of work with the Boy Scouts and the Shriners.
When costumed work is slower in the warmer months, he assists a local homebuilder as a jack-of-all-trades project manager.
On Friday, Dec. 15, Santa and Mrs. Claus spent part of the morning thanking Gottschlisch’s Lutheran General surgical team. Seeing his patient in his best form put a spring in Oliver’s step amid the neurology diagnoses and surgeries that don’t take off for the Christmas season.
“Who doesn’t like spreading good cheer?” said Oliver.
He got Gottschlisch up and running to utter countless “ho, ho, ho’s” while bringing some holiday sparkle to some who cannot get out of a sickbed. His message travels well beyond the holidays to a 365-days-a-year frequency:
“I do want to see a better world.”