HASTINGS, Mich. — A west Michigan teen looking to show appreciation for her older sister has gone viral on TikTok, even getting the attention of well-known youtuber David Dobrik.
All in 60 seconds, Katie Pattok told her family's story explaining to Dobrik why her older sister deserved help and recognition going in to the new year, and that is exactly what she got.
"Hello everyone on TikTok but especially David Dobrik. You asked us to make videos nominating someone in our lives for something cool for Christmas, and I think my sister Emily deserves it more than anyone," said 18-year-old Katie Pattok in her TikTok video to Dobrik.
Pattok knows the power of social media, and that's why she made and uploaded her video to TikTok.
"When we were young, we were abused and neglected by our biological parents. Their rights were terminated by the courts, and our grandparents adopted us," said Katie Pattok.
@katie_pattok ##DavidsHoliday PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, AND COMMENT. I could talk forever about Emily and our situation, she deserves this. ##greenscreen ##YearOnTikTok
Her video went viral. Now it's reaching almost one million likes and four million views, all in hopes of honoring her older sister Emily.
"In January, we lost our grandfather, and grandma followed him to heaven in August. This left my 15 and 16-year-old brothers as orphans. Emily, who’s 21, was the only one in my family who stepped up to be their guardian," said Pattok in the TikTok.
"It was hard to have to step up immediately. That night, I went from being a 20-year-old college kid who could party and do whatever I wanted to the adult in charge, the head of household all in a couple minutes," said Katie's older sister Emily Pattok.
"I don’t know how someone could hear our story and not feel it, you know? I was like, if he hears this, you know, there’s no way he could look away," said Katie.
Not even 24 hours later from it being posted, the video reached Dobrik, and he responded.
"I’m sending you this check for $25,000," said youtube star David Dobrik.
"He sent the $25,000. We were able to pay bills with it. We were also able to get car insurance which we hadn’t had for a while," said Emily.
@katie_pattok ##duet with @daviddobrik Thank you all so much, we feel the love and are so thankful for everything!!❤️ @erpattok
Now, Emily is working with lawyers to unfreeze the family's assets, which they're hoping to have by August.
And as for her plans, she said she'll hold off on moving to a bigger city until her youngest brother graduates high school in two and a half years.
"I’m still young enough to where I still have lots of time to do all of the things I want. Rather than being selfish, I have to take care of others right now and do it later," said Emily.
If you'd like to help the Pattok kids, Emily is asking for recipes to cook for the family. If you have one to share, you can send it to erpattok@hotmail.com.
If you'd like to help monetarily, click here for a link to their GoFundMe.
