CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Children with rare illnesses who have to spend Christmas in UNC Hospitals will still be getting a visit from Santa.

For the fifth year in a row, the Krishnan family has donated hundreds of toys through their toy drive.

"I've had two experiences with this. Having Christmas in the hospital is terrible. It's absolutely terrible," said 12-year-old Yash Krishnan. "It's not fun at all. I hope nobody has to go in the hospital during Christmas and they don't get any gifts."

Yash has a rare genetic condition called mismatch repair. Two copies of a faulty gene cause his body to not recognize abnormal cancer cells. His mom, Parvathy, said he has had colon cancer and ampullary cancer. 

His sister, Ira, had the same condition. She passed away at age four in 2018.

Parvathy Krishnan said as an immunocompromised family, they know what it truly means to sanitize and be cautious. They were not going to stop their toy drive because of the pandemic.

"The rest of the world is now getting a sneak peak at what living with a rare disease or living with a medically complex person in your house looks like," said Parvathy.

Each year, the family gets a list from the hospital on the types of gifts kids may need. Everything is donated. Parvathy said donations mostly come from the Triangle and surrounding areas. 

"The first year we did it, it was Ramadan and Diwali - along the same lines. And we wanted to showcase to the south Asian community, which is where we were from originally, that this is real," said Parvathy. "Our children get sick. Our children are in the hospital. And part of Diwali or Ramadan, or any holiday is always giving back."

UNC Hospital personnel said they will be able to spread these toys and supplies out to different departments and use them even beyond the holidays.