A father got a chest tattoo identical in color and shape to his eight year-old son’s birthmark to help the youngster feel more confident. Derek Prue Sr spent 30 hours having the purple inking on the left side of his torso after noticing his son Derek Jr didn’t like taking his shirt off to go swimming.
Derek Sr, from Stony Plain in Alberta, Canada, explained: ‘I knew he was self-conscious about it. I saw how he was reacting, and it made me want to do it so that he wouldn’t be the only one.’
Tattoo parlor owner Tony Gilbert carried out the inking, and was touched to hear the reason behind Derek Sr’s design.
Gilbert told CBC: ‘I think it’s amazing to be able to comfort your son like that. It’s more than just your kid seeing your name, or something, you get to actually, like, really change the way he feels about himself.
‘He’s been through the wringer sitting for that. It’s pretty painful.’
The dad had multiple tattoo sessions over eight weeks to replicate Derek Jr’s birthmark, and says he was surprised at the amount of work it required.
But Derek Sr has zero regrets. He explained: ‘It felt good to do it. It was a long process to do it. I thought it was going to be, like, a few hours..
‘I’m kind of glad I didn’t know how long it was going to take. Now we have the same marks for life.’
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