As one of the net’s most popular livestreaming platforms, Twitch sees a constant influx of unforgettable moments, from peanut-butter wrestling to surprise proposals – but one streamer was part of an instance that left him speechless.
Popular Twitch streamer ‘Mizkif’ was in the middle of a World of Warcraft broadcast on May 18 when he received a touching donation message from a fan, who claimed that both he and his little brother would watch Mizkif’s streams while waiting on his brother’s open heart surgery.
In a heart-wrenching twist, the fan revealed that his little brother had passed away on Thursday – leading to an emotional reaction from Mizkif.
“My little brother and I would stay up for hours watching your streams/vods while he was waiting for his open heart surgery,” the fan wrote. “He passed away this Thursday and I just wanted to say thank you for making him smile every day. Thank you for everything you do. Thanks.”
Mizkif was understandably left speechless by the fan’s message, taking a moment to process their message while staring at his monitor.
“What?” he said after a long pause. “Dude, I’m so sorry. Fuck, I’m sorry, dude. That sucks. Are you being serious? I can’t tell if you’re being serious.”
Mizkif’s chat exploded with hearts and ‘pepehands’ emotes in response to the message, while commenters across Reddit expressed similar sentiments – with one commenter noting that they, too, will have to undergo open heart surgery in the future.
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“I have a heart condition and will eventually have to go in for open heart surgery soon in my life,” the commenter wrote. “Shit like this hurts to watch.”
The fan’s message likely hit close to home due to Mizkif’s own heart condition, which he mentioned in a somber Tweet in November 2018.
“…I’ve been in and out of the hospital the past 24 hours because I’m having really bad heart palpitations,” Mizkif wrote of his condition. “Don’t think I’m dying or anything, I’ve had heart problems for a while now but I gotta fix this.”
Sorry for not streaming today and I probably wont stream tomorrow. I've been in and out of the hospital the past 24 hours because im having really bad heart palpitations
Don't think I'm dying or anything, I've had heart problems for a while now but I gotta fix this.
— Mizkif (@REALMizkif) November 28, 2018
This touching moment follows yet another emotional instance on the platform, where members of a Brazilian GTA role playing server came out en masse in a tribute to a 16-year-old YouTuber, who had passed away due to a health condition that affected his muscles.
Despite the well-documented vitriol in online communities, Twitch can also be a haven for wholesome moments, like this one.