Dad Gets A Tattoo Of His Son’s Surgery Scar

Gabriel Marshall is a brave boy, much loved by those around him, and yet his brain tumor has left a deep scar on his head that robbed him of some of his happiness and self-confidence.

Gabriel Marshall  is an eight-year-old boy who knows two things very well: he has the best father in the world and a long life ahead of him.

If Gabriel is known all over the world today, it is because of a very beautiful and encouraging reason. Not long ago, many countries celebrated Father’s Day and on this day Gabriel’s father, Josh Marshall, wanted to do something special for his son.

Gabriel walks around with a big scar on his head that he’s actually ashamed of. It continues to remind him of his illness, which is now almost completely gone.

Because this scar robbed Gabriel of his smile, his father decided to get a tattoo. In the same place, in the same color, to imitate the same wound for a very specific purpose: to encourage and empower his son.

Let’s take a look at their story.

An example of a father loving his son

All parents love their children more than anyone or anything. There is probably nothing more terrifying than hearing that your child has been diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer.

Statistics indicate that the survival rate in children between the ages of four and eighteen who are diagnosed with cancer is approximately 80%. This is of course good news. However, the struggle, fear and pain you feel when your child is subjected to severe treatments and surgeries is undoubtedly very difficult to deal with.

Gabriel Marshall was diagnosed with cancer a year ago and the impact of this was overwhelming: He had a rare brain tumor known as anaplastic astrocytoma.

This is a malignant tumor of the central nervous system, most common in adult males.

Although the prognosis is not great, the chance of survival in children is slightly higher. This gave Gabriel’s family hope and did not lose it for a day.

Cancer in an eight-year-old

When a child is diagnosed with a disease as serious as this one, he is not yet fully aware of what it actually entails.

His life will change drastically and his daily activities such as going to school, playing with friends, playing video games and doing homework will be disrupted by hospital visits, treatments, needles and anxiety.

One of the hardest things children have to accept is their physical change. Chemotherapy doesn’t just cause patients to lose their hair. It also causes their faces to swell, lose weight and change their facial expression.

In addition, fatigue is a constant companion of people battling cancer.

• Gabriel survived a difficult surgery in which oncologists removed much of the tumor. It was a very complicated operation. The doctors were unable to completely eliminate all the damage the astrocytoma had caused.

• Still, the diagnosis is good at the moment. The disease is now stable and inactive. This is a positive fact that this family is holding on to.

• However, one lasting problem Gabriel has suffered from this is a lack of self-confidence. Every time he looks in the mirror, all he sees is the scar from his surgery.
• The large, red scar just above his ear that points like an arrow to his illness.
• He has lost his dreams. He refuses to leave the house, to go back to school, to play in the park… He only sees his scar.

A tattoo of the scar

Josh Marshall is Gabriel’s father. He is a twenty-eight year old optimist and a brave man, who has never left his childhood side for a moment. Despite the fact that life can be incredibly unfair at times, Josh knows that the most important thing is to maintain a positive attitude and never lose hope.

Therefore, it was clear to him that once the doctors said they had done their job and removed the tumor, it was time to ‘heal his son’s emotions’, to restore his self-confidence, as well as his energy and his optimism.

Father’s Day gave Josh the chance to surprise his son in a great way. He had shaved his head and had a tattoo that looked exactly like the scar on his son’s head. Now ‘they were the same’.

From that moment, Gabriel went out with a newfound sense of strength. He is no longer ashamed, because he has his father by his side who, together with him, shows his scar to the world. Together they are stronger people who can handle anything.

We wish little Gabriel all the luck in the world, a brave boy who has been stable for nine months now.