Young Gabriel Marshall was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare malignant brain tumor in March of 2015. The cancer forced the 8-year-old boy to get life-saving brain surgery. After undergoing surgery the boy was left with a large and noticeable scar on the right side of his head. The sizeable wound crippled Gabriel’s confidence and was even so devastating to the young boy that he called himself a “monster.” That’s when Gabriel’s father, Josh Marshall, made an amazing and heartwarming gesture to cheer up his son.
Josh got a tattoo that exactly matched his son’s cancer surgery scar. Josh had already shaved off his hair to show solidarity with his cancer-stricken son who lost his hair from chemo, but he went the extra mile to show his son that he wasn’t a monster.
“This broke my heart,” Marshall explained. “I told him if people wanted to stare, they could stare at both of us.”
On Father’s Day, Josh entered a competition for the St. Baldricks Foundation for the Best Bald Dad of 2016. The competition is where fathers shave their head to raise awareness and funding for childhood cancer and research. Josh and Gabriel won first place with over 5,000 votes.
“I would like to thank everyone for helping make this happen. It’s an honor to be titled 2016’s #BestBaldDad, but the truth is I’m no better than any of the other contestants,” Josh wrote. “We are all great fathers that would go to any extent to help our children, so in my eyes we’re all winners.”
Not only does Josh win best bald dad, but he wins best dad.
[BuzzFeed]