A TikTok creator's emotional confession about being excluded from social events due to financial hardship has gone viral, highlighting the isolating effects of medical debt. In a Feb. 12 video, Andrey Borul (@father_vs_world) tearfully recounted how a friend's comment about his family being "poor" resonated deeply because of his struggle with medical bills after nearly dying from an infection.

Borul, who says he's working 20 hours daily to recover from medical debt, described how the comment exposed the social isolation that comes with financial hardship. Despite managing to create joy for his children by bringing snow to their backyard when they couldn't afford mountain trips, he admitted feeling "so alone" after not being invited anywhere for three months. The video garnered over 1 million views and 20,000 comments.

According to KFF, four in ten adults reported having debt due to medical or dental bills in 2022. Borul's GoFundMe campaign has raised over $25,000 to help offset his medical debt. Commenters rallied around Borul, with many suggesting that rejection from so-called friends might be "protection" and emphasizing that having a family makes him "rich" in what matters most. The outpouring of support included outreach from his pastor checking on the family's wellbeing.