In 1981, Jim Porterfield's life was completely changed. After a head-on collision with a drunk driver, Jim fell into a coma and was not expected to ever wake up. However, he eventually pulled through. After the six-week coma, he had to go through a total 13 surgeries, and was left with serious physical and mental disabilities from his injuries.
According to one of his daughters, Krista, he suffered a lacerated forehead, a frontal lobe injury, and a subdural hematoma. A bolt was inserted to relieve pressure from around his brain, but unfortunately the fluid remained, resulting in seizures and severe short-term memory loss.
In addition to this, his right elbow was shattered and fused in place permanently, leaving him unable to brush his teeth or eat with his dominant hand. His left femur had to be partially replaced, his tibia and fibula were completely shattered in both legs, and his feet bones were also fused improperly - leading to frequent falls and severe pain.
With this kind of misfortune, it would be easy to give up, but instead Jim built a life for himself - surrounded by a loving family that supported one another. And now, with just one simple gesture, he overwhelmed his daughter - and left tears in the eyes of many of us, too.
His daughter, Morgan, posted the story about her father on Twitter, as well as two photos. In the photo, she captured how her father had been saving change in his medication bottle for an unknown reason, writing:
"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"
It seems that Jim is doing all he can to be a good father and support his kids, even when his abilities are limited by his injuries.
Morgan's tweet has now been liked over 270,000 times and retweeted 50,000 times. She later thanked everyone for their support, calling her father "my inspiration" and asking for others to donate to their GoFundMe, created in order to help cope with her father's medical bills.
In the past week more than $15,000 has been raised by nearly a thousand people, with the $20,000 goal sure to be reached. On the page, further background information is shared, written by Krista.
She explained how after managing to find somewhere to work since his accident, he was laid off from his job last year.
"Before the accident, my Dad worked for the railroad doing manual labor. He was not thought to live or ever walk again and yet he defied the odds. He went on to have 4 children and was able to find work in a file room for an oil and gas company.
"Incredibly he was able to hold this job for over 30 years, in part, I believe this is due to some wonderful people recognizing how special my Dad is. He has always lived paycheck to paycheck but we always had a roof over our head and food on the table.
"He has never hesitated to help others. I grew up with him taking my sister and I to nursing homes and visiting with the elderly and constantly coming up with kind things he could do for others. Despite all his disabilities, he is such an admirable man. "
They have now been able to secure disability income for him, but this has also made him ineligible for Medicaid. Due to the current waiting period imposed on those with disabilities, he won't be eligible until 2020 - and they need a little help from others until then.
"I was not surprised at all when Morgan posted what a sweet small thing he did for her. It is part of who he is and we are so lucky to have him in our lives.
"We know this is something he would never ask for himself, but there is no one I know more deserving."
If you can, drop by the GoFundMe campaign and donate to their cause.
