When his son, Canadian citizen Derek Prue Jr., refused to shoot a t-shirt in the pool, Derek Sr. made the courageous and sympathetic decision to defend him.
Although he was proud of his birthmark, he had noticed that his son had started to hide it. He intended to convey to his son that he was not alone. He decided to permanently tattoo the same birthmark on himself to provide his child additional security.
The father went to Juicy Quill Tattoo expecting the tattoo session to be a couple of hours; nevertheless, it ended up taking 30 hours, with the first session taking about four hours.
Derek Sr. was dedicated to showing his son that he was not alone and that despite the pain and time commitment, he should be proud of his birthmark. Derek Sr. took off his shirt as the entire family returned to the pool in order to show his son the tattoo, which was an exact replica of his son’s birthmark. The child was shocked that his father had done something for him and delighted to see it. The boy decided to take off his t-shirt and compare his birthmark to his father’s tattoo because he no longer felt self-conscious about it.
He now feels more confident and is no longer ashamed of his birthmark, thus all of Derek Jr.’s father’s pain in the tattoo parlor was justified. The father’s love and support had a significant impact on his son’s sense of worth. This is a heartwarming example of a father’s love and the lengths he would go to ensure the happiness and welfare of his child.