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One of the things that parents are known for is helping us to feel better about our insecurities. And one father made a very permanent gesture in hopes of getting his son to feel more comfortable in his own skin. Derek Prue Sr. knew that his young boy was very self-conscious about a large birthmark that he has on the upper right side of his torso.

Wanting to help his boy get over the feelings of self-consciousness, Derek ended up getting an exact replica of the birthmark tattooed on himself – in the same area. As Derek shared with CBC, he did it as a show of solidarity – a way of letting his son know that it’s no big deal and he wasn’t the only one who had the marking.

The little boy, Prue Jr., had no idea the lengths that his father would go to for him. However, his suspicions were piqued a bit when his mother, Shanel Prue, suddenly began taking photos of his birthmark. Still, the young child could never have imagined it was because his dad was preparing to have a full tattoo of the birthmark done.

Today we have a father who’s 8yr old son has a large birthmark, his son is being teased and harassed by kids at…

Posted by Juicy Quill Tattoo on Thursday, October 1, 2020

The entire tattoo was not an easy process to undergo. It required many hours of work, though the exact number hasn’t been released. News stations have reported that it took almost 30 hours of work to complete, but the tattoo artist said in a comment, that was inaccurate. Either way, it was something between 6 to 8 weeks of inking sessions to fully finish. Derek was in the talented hands of tattoo artist, Tony Gibbert. Tony owns the Juicy Quill tattoo studio, which saw Derek as a regular for the several weeks that he sat through the tattoo.

Tony said to CBC that what Derek had undergone wasn’t short of painful but at the same time, he thought it was a very selfless thing to do for his kid. As Tony added, the tattoo was “more than just your kid seeing your name, or something, you get to actually, like, really change the way he feels about himself. Just being able to go swimming with his dad and take off his shirt and be happy and comfortable. I’m happy I get to be part of it, in a small way I get to help with what he’s trying to do.”

Posted by Juicy Quill Tattoo on Thursday, December 10, 2020

While Derek’s gesture was certainly heartfelt and moving, the loving father did admit that he had no idea the amount of time and work that would go into the completion of the tattoo. He explained to CBC that when he went to his first session with Tony, he spent about 3 or 4 hours in the chair. After the time had passed, he asked if it was completed, to which Tony had apparently replied, “Yeah, we’re almost done the outline.” Yikes! But he still managed to persevere through the entire process.

As painful as it might have been, the sacrifice certainly paid off. Derek’s son was very moved by his father’s actions. The young boy said to CBC’s Edmonton AM that he was at first a little confused by it, but that didn’t stop him from being completely thrilled that his dad would go to such lengths to make him feel confident. What a lucky little boy to have a dad who cares so much.