Dad Gets Tattoo To Match Son‘s Unique Birthmark

A dad has endured hours of pain to get a tattoo in the same shape as his son’s birthmark in a bid to help boost his confidence.

Derek Prue Jr. is 8 years old and lives with his family in Alberta, Canada. He was born with a large birthmark on his chest which has always made him feel shy about taking his top off. In a bid to feel less self conscious, his dad Derek decided to get a tattoo on his chest in the shape of the birthmark.

Speaking to CBC news, the dad says he surprised his son by doing it in secret and revealing it as he was playing with his sisters in a hotel swimming pool.

“I knew he was self-conscious about it,” Derek Sr. shared. “I saw how he was reacting, and it made me want to do it so that he wouldn’t be the only one. So I surprised him by taking my shirt off. I showed him that I had the exact same mark as him.”

The brown birthmark covers a big portion of Derek Jr.’s left torso, from his chest around his side. “They don’t make fun of it, but they ask me sometimes,” the eight-year-old explained.

Dad’s decision was made to help his son feel more confident in his own skin. However, even he wasn’t prepared for the amount of time it would take.

“I thought it was going to be a one session kind of thing. But three hours turned into about 30 hours. So it’s been a bit of a process,” Derek Sr. said.

“The first sitting, I think, was close to four hours. And I didn’t really look to see what was going on. So I thought at the end of four hours it was done. So I said, ‘Is it almost done?’ and he said, ‘I’m almost done the outline,’” he laughed.

The boy’s mother, Shanel said her son’s confidence has increased so much that he’s now brave enough to take his shirt off at the pool. Something he hasn’t done in a long, long time.

“Whenever Daddy’s there, I can take the shirt off,” the boy told her. “Now we have the same marks for life,” added Derek Sr.

What a beautiful act of love from the dad, don’t you agree?

Images: CBC news