18-month-old Honey-Rae was born looking just a little bit different from most. Because of medical difficulties experienced after birth, she now has a large, red birthmark that covers most of her right side. According to her 40-year-old mother, Tanya Phillips:

She’s struggled to breathe when she was first born and was rushed to the special care unit. 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 permanently marked for the rest of her life.

The last thing that Honey-Rae’s parents wanted was for their daughter to feel like an outsider for the rest of her life because of her birthmarks. So they did something extreme and incredible. They got tattoos to match their daughter’s markings.

Tanya told The Mirror:

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.

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.

Thanks to The Mirror for the story!