When his young son underwent brain surgery this Dad stepped up and went way past the plate to demonstrate his solidarity and love. We take a closer look.
A Picture Of Happiness
In March of last year the young son of Josh Rhodes, Gabriel, was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer. Anaplastic Astrocytoma is a rare type of malignant tumour and required invasive surgery. The great news is that young Josh, now 8 years old, has now been off treatment for 9 months and though there is some of the tumour still remaining he is now stable.
A Mark Of Devotion
Dad Josh, 28, took a remarkable decision when young Gabriel broke his heart by describing the surgical scar, a huge U shaped affair above his ear covering most of the side of his head, as leaving him looking like a monster. Josh headed to a tattooist and asked him to recreate the same scar on his own head. It demonstrated a level of empathy that must have made a huge impact on his son. “If people want to stare they can stare at both of us” he told Gabriel.
St Baldrick’s Foundation
That level of empathy certainly struck a chord for the judges at St Baldrick’s Foundations’ #BestBaldDad competition which takes entrants from relatives who have shaved their heads to honour a child they know who has or has had cancer.
Alison Sutton, who runs social media at the foundation said “It is the first time we’ve seen an entry where a dad went above and beyond shaving his head in solidarity with his child and got a tattoo to boost his child’s confidence. It’s a truly touching story.” For his part Gabriel loves his dad’s tattoo, he says it makes them twins… which is definitely the greater prize for a wonderful father.
HIS Hair Clinic
We applaud the single minded bravery of Josh and his son and thank twentywords.com for bringing the story to our attention (read the original article here). Here at HIS we meet men every day nervous about making the final step on their SMP journey, scared to cross the rubikon, as they see it, and finally get the treatment. We hope the bravery of Gabriel and his dad can help give them some perspective and make the commitment to make a change for the better in their own lives.
