Father’s tattoo matches the huge scar his young son bears from brain cancer surgery

June 22, 2016

When eight-year-old Gabriel Marshall of Kansas had surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his brain, he was left with a scar over his ear
To boost his confidence, his father, Josh Marshall, 28, had a replica of the scar tattooed on his own head
The dad shared a photo of himself and Gabriel showing off their scars side-by-side and it went viral, garnering heaps of praise for Josh’s gesture

Frank Coletta for Daily Mail Australia

and
Valerie Siebert For Dailymail.com

Published:
20:09 EST, 20 June 2016

|
Updated:
09:54 EST, 21 June 2016

View
comments

A father has gone to extraordinary lengths to show his love and support for his sick young son by getting a tattoo on his head matching a scar the boy bears from brain surgery.

Gabriel Marshall of Kansas, eight, was diagnosed last year with an anaplastic astrocytoma, a type of malignant brain tumor, the treatment for which was surgery.

While the surgery didn’t get all of the tumor out, it has been nine months since he stopped treatment and is currently stable.

Full support: Josh Marshall, 28, (right) has gained online fame after this photo of him showing off a tattoo he got to support his cancer-fighting son Gabriel, eight, (right) went viral

Doting dad: Gabriel was diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma, a type of malignant brain tumor, last year in March

Little fighter: The treatment for the condition was surgery, and despite the fact that not all the tumor was removed, Gabriel has been off treatment for nine months

However, after the surgery, Gabriel’s father Josh, 28, became concerned about how the scar left behind on his son’s head from the surgery was affecting his self-confidence.

In fact, the little boy told his dad that he felt like a ‘monster’ with the scar. A fact that simply broke his father’s heart.

So, to help his son feel normal, Josh came up with the idea of getting a tattoo on his head to look identical to his son’s cancer scar.

‘I told him if people wanted to stare, they could stare at both of us,’ the doting dad told BuzzFeed.

The moving gesture came to wide attention after Josh entered the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s #BestBaldDad competition in honor of Father’s Day.

Man who ruined couple’s million-dollar view by building a…

Turning scars into beauty: Tattoo artist covers mastectomy…
Woolworths goes to war with overpriced city convenience…

Out the other side: Following this surgery, Gabriel told his dad that the car made him feel like a ‘monster’

Standing tall: Josh was heartbroken over the news that his son was suffering, so came up with a plan to help him feel better

The solution: Josh decided to get a tattoo to match his son’s scar over his own left ear

The photo of him and Gabriel showing off their shaved heads side-by-side went up on Facebook as an entry in the competition with Josh’s explanation: ‘Me and my son at this year’s St. Baldrick’s event in Wichita, Kansas. Got my son’s scar tattooed to help his self confidence.’

Unsurprisingly, Josh won the competition, and subsequently had the photo of him and Gabriel shared all over the web.

It was described variously as ‘awesome’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘respect’ and picked up by blogs and public social media pages.

One blogger reported to her followers: ‘This father got a tattoo of his son’s scar which the little boy got from the surgery he had to get rid of his cancer. The amazing dad said he did it to help boost his son’s confidence. Amazing father!’