Woman’s plea results in support for mom who had stroke

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    MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — A Mobile woman’s desperate plea for help on TikTok has touched millions of people around the world.

“There’s been people from Ireland, South Africa… I didn’t expect it to.. the video.. to blow up that much,” said Valerie Partsch, who shared her mother, Michelle Moody’s story on the social media platform.

In the video she explains how the single mom and substitute teacher suffered a severe stroke on Easter and has been in the hospital since, unable to walk, talk, barely able to eat and looking at a long road to recovery.

“An outpour of support in the comments and people messaging me saying that she seems like a wonderful person and they support teachers and their families have gone through people having strokes and it’s just been incredible.”

Partsch is doing anything she can to soften the financial strain on her family.

“We’re taking things like the dining room table and chairs to resale shops and I was doordashing until like one and two a.m. just to make the extra money.”

She first took her plight to the TikTok app on May 4th, more than two weeks after her mother’s stroke. The first video got thousands of views, but it was the second one she posted last week that went viral, reaching 4.6 million people by Sunday afternoon.

“This is life changing, honestly…the support on GoFundMe has been insane and wonderful.”

Loved ones and strangers alike have donated more than $22,000 dollars to the GoFundMe, after many of the people who donated saw her video on TikTok.

Partsch says it’s lifted a huge burden off of her family, hoping her mother can focus on her recovery.

“I’m definitely planning on paying this forward and helping whoever I can and it’s just been incredible. This is the craziest thing to ever happen to us and we’re so grateful.”

Partsch says her mom will be discharged from Mobile Infirmary on Tuesday.

All of the money raised will go toward her recovery and paying for bills while her mother is unable to work.

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