Yikes. That sucks. Really. It does. I've had stuck transactions. I think almost all of us have. It's a painful experience, and for me costly as well.
So it sounds like he can wait, possibly forever, or save up enough $ to pay an accelerator like https://www.viabtc.com/tools/txaccelerator. That was the one I used for my stuck transaction. After I paid the fee, it was confirmed quickly.