Four-year-old Everly Backe has had to undergo several medical procedures in her short life. Just three days after she was born, Everly underwent her first open heart surgery. Since then she’s undergone eight medical procedures at Advocate Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately there’s more for her on the way.
According to Everly’s father Matt, she has been asking many questions about her procedures and scars. Her biggest scar is on her chest, the point of entry during her open-heart surgeries. Her mother Lauren shared with NBC 5 Chicago, “People ask about her scars. Whether it’s her chest or her foot, we try to make it be very positive. I know as we grow up those are things you can become more self-conscious about.”
Matt wanted to do something to make his daughter feel more comfortable so he decided to get a procedure of his own. He got a tattoo of his daughter’s “zipper” scar on his own chest. The tattoo is an exact replica of Everly’s scar on her chest. Matt told NBC 5 Chicago, “If she becomes self-conscious about it, I can be right next to her and say, the heck with it! Look at us, we both got our zippers. My thought process is that, as she gets older, perhaps it’ll be something that we can bond over or just that she has appreciation that she’s not alone.”
