Hutchinson dad gets scar tattoo in support of son fighting cancer

Eight-year-old Gabe Marshall is battling brain cancer. After a recent surgery left the side of his head scarred, he told his parents he felt like a monster.

"As a parent that hurts. To have your child feel like nobody likes them,” said Gabe’s mother, Bethany Shultz. “Thinking he's a monster and everybody is scared of him, but that's not the case"

"I didn't like him calling himself a monster, because to me he's beautiful," father Josh Marshall added.

So Josh did something about it. He called Merl Kent, a local Hutchinson tattoo artist of Point Blank Tattoo, to get a scar tattoo to match his son's. Kent was aware of Gabe's battle with cancer.

"They are good customers of the shop, so I knew what was going on.”

Kent did the work, free of charge.

"I just look at what they are going through and if that little thing could make him happy," said Kent.

It was a hit. Josh and Bethany noticed a difference in Gabe immediately.

"He's back to being how he was before the diagnosis. He's back to being his goofy self. fun and loving," Josh boasted.

A photo of Josh and Gabe side-by-side has gone viral, and the family says it has been non-stop requests to hear their story ever since.

They are happy to oblige and hope that their story can inspire people to not just scroll through these types of stories on their social media feeds, but to reach out and donate to the organization’s that help fund children’s cancer research.