Derek Prue Sr. called his son to the edge of the pool.

The younger Derek didn’t know why or what to expect but he broke off from his sisters and swam towards his dad. When Prue Sr. pulled his shirt up, Prue Jr. fell back into the water with the biggest smile on his face.

From Prue Sr.’s rib, a large patch of darker-colored skin spreads up his chest, down his upper abdomen, and towards the center of his torso. It was a “birthmark”, and he only got it just recently.

More than a “birthmark”, it was an expression of a father’s love.

Prue Sr. noticed that his son was always wearing a shirt whenever he jumps into a pool. Apparently, Prue Jr. felt the need to hide his birthmark that covers a big part of his body.

He was being self-conscious and a bit embarrassed about it, and it was affecting his self-confidence. That was when Prue Sr. knew he can and had to do something.

Prue Sr. was not a stranger to ink, so he came up with an idea.

“My son was feeling more and more self-conscious as he was growing up, and the idea popped in my head to have the same mark as him,” Prue Sr. told TODAY, “I saw it as a chance to make him feel more comfortable.”

But to make this surprise possible, Prue Sr. had to enlist the help of his wife. He needs his wife to take pictures of the birthmark so he can make an exact replica of it. And to quell his son’s suspicions, the couple had to come up with an excuse.

“She told him it was for the doctor.” Prue Sr. said, which is a convincing excuse since his son’s birthmark gets checked out once a year.

It was only the start of a grueling journey, however.

Prue Sr. connected with Tony Gibert from Juicy Quill Tattoo for the project. Prue Sr. didn’t know it at that time but the entire work required 30 grueling hours under the needle.

“The first session was four hours. It was so painful, I was gritting my teeth. I asked, ‘Are we done?’ Tony said we were done with the outline. I had no idea it was such a big process.” Prue Sr. told TODAY.

Besides the unassuming complexity of the tattoo, he also learned that some parts of the body are much resilient than others. The rib cage part was particularly painful.

Despite the pain and the hours, Prue Sr. shared that it was all worth it.

“I wanted him to feel good. I don’t think any parent likes to see their child go through that, but everyone has at some point.” He told TODAY, “This was one instance where I thought I could do something about it.”

Prue Jr. can’t still believe what his dad did but Prue Sr. knew that his son felt good about it. He even asks his father if it’s real, or if it’s really permanent.

And as his story resonated with a lot of people, he concluded that all of us can agree on one thing: That it’s okay to be different. Prue Sr. was just glad that he could do something for his son and that the whole experience is unbelievably rewarding.

Watch how far this dad went just to make his son feel better about being different.

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Source: YouTube – Reuters, TODAY, Facebook – Juicy Quill Tattoo