Love is in the little things.
Perhaps no man has exemplified that better than Texas father Jim Porterfield, whose small act of love for his teen daughter became a viral sensation overnight.
As someone with mental and physical handicaps, it’s truly the only way Jim has known how to display his affection for his children over the past three decades.
Back in 1981, he was tragically hit by a drunk driver and landed in a coma for six weeks. He was never even supposed to wake up.
But not only did Jim defy the doctors’ odds, he also fathered four beautiful children who adore him dearly.
However, his life has not been without challenges, as he deals with ongoing seizures, limited mobility, and severe mental handicaps including short-term memory loss.
But to his kids, this is the only way they’ve ever known their dad since he had them after the accident.
“People say, ‘Do you wish you dad was normal?” said his 18-year-old daughter Morgan. “My dad is normal. He’s my dad. He’s the best dad I can ask for, and I’m proud to call him my dad.”
Times got particularly tough for Jim last year when he lost his job at The Gas Company as a filing clerk, but he didn’t let his own financial struggles get the way of caring for Morgan, his youngest daughter.
The attentive father noticed that she went to Starbucks every day for an iced coffee before heading to her part-time job at McDonald’s.
Soon after, he began collecting change, though the teen had no idea why at the time. About a month later, it all made sense when he presented her with the sweetest little gift that now has the Internet swooning.
“He had been saving up his pocket change and kept it in his cup in his room,” said Morgan. “When I got home from work one day he said, ‘There’s a present for you on my bed.’”