Teen TikTok star survives fall from 80-foot cliff, family sets up GoFundMe for medical bills: 'I'm simply a human asking for help'
TikTok star Caleb Coffee, who has over 11 million followers, recently made headlines after he fell off of a cliff in Hawaii. His father explained that Coffee fell onto “lava rocks” while hiking with friends and that it was a “miracle” his son was still alive.
Coffee remains in the hospital being treated for his injuries and recently posted a video thanking fans for their support. He shared that doctors had discovered that despite the severity of his injuries, the fall did not break his neck or spine.
“Its a Miracle that im alive today,” he wrote on his TikTok. “Praise God, thank you for this 3rd chance at life! And also Thank you to anyone who is supporting me today. You will never know how much that truly means to me and my family.”
How did Caleb Coffee fall off a cliff?
Coffee’s family set up a GoFundMe for the TikToker, and the fundraising page does not reveal any additional details about how the fall happened. The fall happened in Hawaii, where Coffee and his family had recently moved from Texas. Coffee’s account frequently shows the influencer outside and staying active in Hawaii’s natural landscape.
The GoFundMe explains that Coffee “slipped” and fell off a 60-to-80-foot cliff onto “lava rock.” From there, he was airlifted to the emergency room.
Testing was done to reveal the full extent of Coffee’s injuries, but his family revealed that they did know he suffered a spinal fracture, a broken femur, a broken elbow, a broken wrist and multiple gouges and burns. They also said he has difficulty eating.
“The medics have informed us more injuries will most likely pop up over the next few weeks,” the family added.
According to the GoFundMe, Coffee also does not have medical insurance, which is why they set up the fundraising page to gather donations for his medical bills and ongoing physical therapy. At the time of reporting, the fund has raised $27,092 of a set $100,000 goal.
Addressing the fundraising criticisms
According to Coffee, the GoFundMe was set up by his sister when she wasn’t sure if he “would even survive” as a way to help him. He posted a TikTok that addressed what he said were criticisms being aimed at him and his family for asking for donations.
For instance, one comment by @kayos.thegreat on his video read: “11.2 million followers and been doing this for 10-15 years? and you don’t have 100k ? I’m not buying it.”
“I don’t want to address this, but I kind of have to because there’s so many people talking,” Coffee said in his video. “And I just want to start by saying social media has a lot of misinformation out there. So what I can tell you, personally, is that I don’t have the money to pay for this.”
Coffee went on to say that despite doing social media for 15 years, his family “doesn’t have five houses and a mansion” and noted that his work as a social media star doesn’t explain where he’s “at in his life right now.”
“I’m simply a human asking for help,” he added. “I simply just want to be able to live my life after this not in debt. And so if you want to help me, thank you, and if not, no worries, but please think before you speak and speak kindly about others because that’s really all you have is what you say.”
While there may be some criticism online about the TiKToker, the comments on Coffee’s latest video were largely supportive.
“People don’t get it, hospital bills be expensive af. so glad your alive caleb,” wrote @local.kyia.
“Rich or poor hospital bills are expensive. my son’s bill was $10,000 for 3 nights,” added @flashy1124.
“I don’t think people understand how much this all cost with out insurance he was air lifted that’s like $100,000 on its own let alone dental,” noted @susijdbdhdiwjahe.
In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News — follow us here!
The post TikTok star Caleb Coffee survives after falling off 80-foot cliff in Hawaii appeared first on In The Know.
More from In The Know:
Influencer with 1.6M TikTok followers loses memory following horseback riding accident
