TikToker shares heartbreaking moment with dad who suffered stroke

A woman is asking TikTok for help after her father suffered a stroke four years ago. On Jan. 17, Kat Downer posted a video that captures a powerful but saddening moment between the two. Speaking to her father Mike on his bed, Downer tells him how much he means to her. “You’re really my best friend, dad. I tell my therapist all the time. I’m so lucky to have a dad who made me feel safe and happy... That’s why I’m so thankful for you, dad," she says, with tears in her eyes. As Kat speaks, Mike looks at her affectionately, unable to respond. Kat’s TikTok has since garnered nearly 19 million views and an outpour of support from the TikTok community. According to a GoFundMe page that Kat created, Mike walked himself to the emergency room in March 2017 “after experiencing some confusion” . His family later learned that he had suffered a massive stroke, rendering him unable to eat, talk or walk by the next day. In 2020, Mike began receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Unfortunately, the pandemic cut his treatment short and Mike, himself, ended up contracting COVID-19, Kat wrote. The family is now raising money to continue Mike’s treatment and as of this writing, his GoFundMe page has raised just short of $27,000 — well over the family’s $9,000 goal