Michigan Santa Diagnosed with MS Continues to Spread His Holiday Magic: 'It Brings a Lot of Joy to People' (Exclusive)

When Roger Minton was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2022, his first thought wasn't his own health — it was Santa's.

Minton had been spreading Christmas cheer as Santa since 2008. "Santa brings a lot of joy to people," says the 38-year-old from Fowlerville, Mich. "I didn’t want any child — or even an adult — to see him in bad health."

Minton's Santa career started 15 Christmases ago at his family's holiday party when their hired Santa canceled. Luckily Minton's aunt still had his uncle’s old Santa suit in a closet, so he ran to the store, bought a beard, and saved the party. From then on, he was hooked.

“What’s better than playing the happiest dude on the planet?” says Minton, whose day job is chief technology officer for a marketing agency. “He is the embodiment of giving and loving.”

Related: Santa Uses American Sign Language to Spread Holiday Cheer: ‘I Never Had the Opportunity’

Through his business Timeless Santa, Minton hosts storytimes at libraries, presides over tree lightings, poses for photos at Christmas Tree Farms, goes on holiday hikes and visits homes for Christmas parties. “Walking into a house and seeing everybody light up is a lot of fun,” he says.

He bleaches his curly beard and mustache every December, and his wardrobe is filled with red and green. But even when he’s wearing a black t-shirt and a baseball cap around town, he says, kids recognize him as Santa.

“I really love that just because I look like this, it brings a lot of joy to people,” he says.

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In 2012, Minton's health started to deteriorate and a crushing migraine led to partial, temporary vision loss in his left eye. A doctor told him he might have multiple sclerosis, but Minton didn’t have health insurance at the time. Throughout the next decade, he tried to ignore his headaches and leg pains, alleviating them with over-the-counter medication.

Then, in 2021, another severe migraine and vision loss sent him back to the doctor. He received his official MS diagnosis in 2022.

Multiple sclerosis causes a breakdown of the protective covering of nerves, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can lead to numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes, and other symptoms. Some people lose the ability to walk on their own or move at all.

Minton was referred to Dr. Jeanie Cote, a neurologist specializing in multiple sclerosis at Memorial Healthcare in Owasso, Mich.

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He asked her whether he needed to give up being Santa. “I didn’t want kids to see Santa sick," he says.

Cote assured him that with proper treatment, he could spread Santa's magic for years to come.

“The best way to continue to be Santa was to treat his MS well,” she says. “He’s got a lot of Santa in him."

Minton participated in a clinical trial of a subcutaneous infusion, Ocrevus Zunovo, a new medication that requires two 10-minute infusions a year. In September, it was approved by the FDA.

“He’s been doing exceptionally,” Cote says.

Minton's wife Erica, 38, has been a huge source of support for him. The two share two teenage sons, Houdini, 17, and Phoenix Ace, 15.

This is not the first challenge the couple has faced in their 19 years of marriage. “We’ve been through harder stuff than this,” Erica says.

She had a stroke 8 years ago and felt her life was over. But Minton encouraged her to keep going and helped her relearn how to walk. “He was there for me,” she says. “I can be there for him just as much.”

She assists him in his Santa gigs by playing Mrs. Claus, or Wingnutte, the elf that runs the reindeer barn at the North Pole. When Santa needs to rest, she turns cartwheels and dances with kids, keeping them entertained.

“It takes the pressure off of him,” she says.

Minton also received support from the other 500 Santas in his community who rallied around him. Because he didn’t want to carry a cane, another local Santa carved him a large wooden staff.

He still has MS symptoms like brain fog and calf pain. But it's the "burning sensation" in his thighs that's hardest to deal with as Santa.

Last year, at the end of a 12-hour shift, his legs were hurting when a child hurled himself onto his lap.

“It was excruciating for me, and I winced,” he says. “And they did catch the picture — but it looks like this kid just jumped into Santa’s arms and kinda hurt him that way.”

He encourages children to stand beside him for a photo, telling them that's it's the best way to capture their holiday outfits. “But some kids just want to be in Santa’s lap,” he says. “I do the best I can.”

Knowing how much happiness he brings helps him work through the pain, he says. On days when he struggles, Erica steps in.

“I’m like, ‘Guess what jolly man, get your butt up! Let’s go have a cookie and we’re going to go do this,” she says. “We both have our darker moments — as I think everybody does — there are times when life beats you down repeatedly and it gets really hard.”

Love, she says, is what keeps them both moving forward.

“When everything else hurts and everything is tough and everything’s scary — the greatest thing you can do is love somebody else," Erica says.

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