Two British parents have gone to extreme lengths to help their daughter feel comfortable with her large and noticeable birthmark.
Adam and Tanya Phillips 18-month-old daughter, Honey-Rae, was born with the large strawberry birthmark that covers much of her right leg and torso.
Mum Tanya told the UK’s Mirror that Honey-Rae’s birthmark is a side effect of complications her daughter experienced after birth.
“She struggled to breathe when she was first born and was rushed to the special care unit,” she told the Mirror.
“When I went to see her she was just lying in a little incubator and that’s when I saw it. It broke my heart.
“I just sobbed and sobbed knowing my baby was going to [be] permanently marked for the rest of her life.”
The couple, who have three other children, told reporters that they did try to make an effort to cover Honey-Rae’s legs as she has in the past been the subject of insensitive comments while out in public.
“I knew if adults could be that insensitive, then kids at school would also be unintentionally mean,” said Tanya.
But it was Honey-Rae’s dad, Adam who wished for his his daughter to not feel like the only one with marks on her body so he came up with a solution.
The couple, who live in North East Lincolnshire, got duplicate tattoos inked onto their bodies to mimic Honey-Rae’s pink spots.
The procedures cost about $124 and took about two-and-a-half hours but the proud parents say that it was well worth it.
Tanya got her tattoo as a 40th birthday present from her husband who had his inked in around Christmas last year.
“It was incredibly painful, especially as I had a flower to cover some old star tattoos, but it was worth every second of the pain,” Tanya told the Mirror.
“When the swelling went down, I showed Honey-Rae, and she gently touched it and smiled as she said ‘Match,’ pointing to her own leg.”
Tanya said that her daughter loves her parents gesture so much she often compares their marks with a giant smile on her face.
Honey-Rae and her parents Adam and Tanya show off their right marks proudly. PHOTO: Facebook.
Adam and Honey-Rae smile for the camera. PHOTO: Facebook.
Mum Tanya told the UK’s Mirror that Honey-Rae now loves to touch her parents’ tattoos so much she happily compares them with her own birthmark. PHOTO: Facebook.
