Mega Doctor News
For Isaac Garza, it’s better to give than to receive during the holiday season.
On Saturday, December 20, 2025, the 16-year-old high school sophomore and his family – escorted by state troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, student volunteers from five local high schools and his friends – stopped by South Texas Health System (STHS) Children’s to drop off the 2,089 toys they collected as part of Isaac’s10th annual holiday toy drive, surpassing his previous record of 1,620 toys, books and gifts in 2024.
“I’m astonished to know that we were able to surpass my goal of 2,000 items,” says Isaac, who needed a 20-foot U-Haul trailer for the donation drop off. “It’s an incredible feeling to know that we’ll be helping put smiles on the faces of hospitalized kids well beyond the holiday season after our successful toy drive.”
The items, which included Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels toy cars, stuffed animals, sports equipment and arts & crafts supplies, were collected at nearly 30 drop-off locations across the Rio Grande Valley.
It’s all part of the South Texas ISD Science Academy student’s annual Isaac’s Angels Toy Drive, which he launched after a near-death hospitalization as a young child.
In 2016, at the age of 7, Isaac was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, a condition that causes inflammation in the artery walls and affects blood flow to the heart. He spent two months in a San Antonio hospital following a near-death event.
During his hospitalization, Isaac received at least one toy every day from the facility’s Child Life department, which proved to be a welcome distraction, providing a sense of normalcy and joy during a stressful time for him and his family.
Check out he Gallery below for more images of the event: All images courtesy of STHS
“As a parent with a hospitalized child, it’s a living nightmare. You just want them to feel better and get well,” says Laura Gomez Garza, Isaac’s mom, who still recalls her son’s reaction to receiving toys from hospital staff during his time in hospital. “One time, his respiratory therapist brought him a model car, and Isaac’s face just lit up. A moment of pure joy, that small toy helped lift his spirits, and he immediately started playing with it. It was a moment of escape for him from the beeping machines, being connected to an IV and the discomfort of spending weeks in a hospital bed. I hold on to those memories because he was so happy in that moment.”
Following his discharge, Isaac swore to bring the same positivity he had experienced to other children requiring hospitalization during the holidays at that same San Antonio facility.
The following year, he launched another holiday toy drive, this time for the patients at STHS Children’s, where he’d go for follow-up visits, as well as any required imaging and lab work.
Following his 10th annual holiday toy drive, Isaac has collected more than 12,000 gifts for hospitalized patients. It’s a feat he still can’t believe.
“It’s an incredible feeling to know that I’ve collected so many toys for hospitalized patients through our annual Isaac’s Angels Toy Drive, especially because it’s really only my family and friends who help put them on,” says Isaac. “We’re not some big corporation; we’re just a small group that wants to help other children in the community during a trying time in their young lives.”
Isaac, who doesn’t have plans to stop hosting his annual toy drive anytime soon, is grateful for the overwhelming community support he received this year and over the last decade.
“I’m touched that so many people have rallied together to support the Isaac’s Angels Toy Drive throughout the years; it’s allowed us to grow and help even more patients,” says Isaac. “I’m planning to break another record next year, and I hope they’ll be back to help me again bring a welcome distraction to hospitalized kids at STHS Children’s.”
To learn more about Isaac’s story, visit the STHS YouTube page. If you’re interested in learning more about Isaac’s Toy Drive, visit his public Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068982248965.
