Disabled Dad's Heartwarming Gift To Daughter Goes Viral
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KATY, TX (CBS Local) - A father's touching gift to his daughter has become a viral sensation and is helping a Texas family raise awareness about the staggering costs of caring for the disabled.
Jim Porterfield was seriously injured by a drunk driver in 1981. Although he was reportedly told he may never walk again, Porterfield went on to become a father of four and provided for his family with an office job he held for more than 30 years.
His daughter, Morgan Porterfield, says her father was recently laid off and is unable to find a new job due to his physical and mental impairments. Porterfield's situation made his small gift to Morgan that much more special. In a picture shared by Morgan on Twitter, the disabled father has been secretly saving his spare change for weeks in order to give his daughter some money for coffee in the mornings.
As some know my dad is mentally and physically handicapped and so especially now that he's older he's unable to work or earn an income but he's been saving his pocket change for the past month for some reason and I thought nothing of it til I came home from work to this today❤️ pic.twitter.com/rdEqu6u8rf
— Morgan Gibson (@morganp_2018) June 2, 2018
The heartwarming present came with a note reading "$11.19 - 6/1/18 coffee money Love, Dad." The touching image immediately became a viral hit, with over 230,000 people liking the June 1 post and more than 40,000 people re-tweeting the picture of Jim Porterfield's gift.
Morgan's story was also shared on Reddit where another 38,000 people up-voted the picture, posted under the title "Awesome Dad."
Morgan and her sister Krista set up a GoFundMe page for their dad after discovering that the disabled worker would not be eligible for Medicare until 2020. "We have finally been able to secure disability income for him, but unfortunately, this has made him ineligible for Medicaid. Due to all his medical conditions, his bills have always been quite staggering," Krista Erbe wrote on the fundraising website.
The support means so much, my dad deserves the world and if you feel called, anything helps ???? https://t.co/wevsP6W0xL via @gofundme
— Morgan Gibson (@morganp_2018) June 3, 2018
The family's plight touched hundreds of people and a goal of $5,000 to help Jim Porterfield's medical bills was passed in just one day. The GoFundMe campaign has already raised over $7,100 since being started on June 3.
"I had no idea so many people would even care! I am feeling beyond blessed and grateful," Morgan Porterfield added.