Gabriel Marshall, an 8-year-old boy from Kansas, has been through a lot. Last year, he was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare form of brain cancer.
Gabriel is stable after undergoing surgery and multiple rounds of treatment. His father Josh told BuzzFeed that Gabriel is “doing good” health-wise.
But while Gabriel’s health has been improving, his surgery left him a large scar on the right side of his head.
Gabriel noticed passerbys looking at his scar, and said the stares made him feel like a “monster.”
“This broke my heart,” Josh Marshall said. “I told him if people wanted to stare, they could stare at both of us.”
Josh’s solution? Tattoo his bald head with a scar that matched Gabriel’s.
Josh’s new ink has gotten plenty of attention for all the right reasons. He entered the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s #BestBaldCompetition for Father’s Day, where he won first place with over 5,000 votes.
His picture has also been shared on other social media sites, where it’s gotten thousands of shares and likes.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.