Dad gets tattoo to match daughter's scar from heart surgery
After his daughter started asking more questions about the scar on her chest from open-heart surgery, Matt Backe found a way to show her that she wasn't alone.
Everly "Evie" Backe, 4, was born with a rare congenital heart defect, and before her first birthday, underwent three open-heart surgeries. Her parents, Matt and Lauren, refer to the scar on her chest as a zipper, because it will be opened and closed again during future heart surgeries. Matt told Good Morning America that when Evie began questioning him about her scar, "My thought was if I could get something that was a replica of it, we could be zipper buddies and she would not have that feeling of being alone."
In January, the Crystal Lake, Illinois, father showed a tattoo artist a photo of Evie, and had the scar recreated on his chest. His new ink inspired his wife, who got a tattoo of her children's first initials and EKG lines showing a heart rate. They posted photos of their tattoos on social media, and heard from several friends and relatives who said they felt self-conscious about their own scars as kids, and loved the support being shown for Evie.
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Evie is also a fan of her dad's tattoo, telling GMA, "He didn't want me to be alone. He wanted to be special like me."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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