Joey Watts, 6, was subjected to a life-saving procedure in England at Leeds Children’s Hospital on May 23.
Although the surgery saved his life, according to his dad, Martin Watts, Joey came out of it feeling “outraged and frightened.”
When Joey was 14 weeks old, he was diagnosed with supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS). SVAS is a heart defect that forms in utero and is “narrowing of the large blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.” If left untreated, SVAS may result in shortness of breath, chest pain, and heart failure, according to the United States National Medicine Library.
“From when they were first born, they told me there was nothing they could do, we would just have to live with it,” Leanne Watts told SWNS, according to FOX News. “I was told they could both pass away at any given point. Joey’s condition progressed rapidly. They said if we didn’t try something now the inevitable will be sooner rather than later.”
Following his surgery, Joey asked, “Is this where they have cut me to fix my heart?”
His parents informed him that his scar of three and a half inches was nothing to be ashamed of, in reality, it was something the six-year-old should be proud of.
Martin received a tattoo to match Joey’s scar to demonstrate how nice it is to have a scar.
Jeanne Watts, the mother of the children and the wife of Martin, said the choice of Martin to get a matching scar tattoo m
“All of these warriors should be proud of their scars and all they achieve in life,” Leanne told Leeds Live.