Dad’s sweet cochlear implant tattoo goes viral

WHEN Alistair Campbell’s six-year-old daughter got her second cochlear implant put in, he decided he’d get a tattoo to match. Now the heartwarming image is breaking the internet.

Fatherly love ... Alistair Campbell got a cochlear implant tattoo in support of his hearing-impaired daughter. Picture: Facebook

SOME parents get tattoos of their children’s names, birthdates or faces to show how much they love their offspring, but this father’s tattoo is particularly sweet.

Alistair Campbell, from Taupo, New Zealand, got a cochlear implant tattooed onto his shaved head in support of his hearing-impaired daughter.

Charlotte, who wears two cochlear implants, laughed when she saw her dad’s new ink and said it was “cool”, reports the New Zealand Herald.

The six-year-old was fitted with her first implant two years ago, after doctors discovered she was deaf in her left ear. She has just had the second one put in.

“It has changed her life being given the gift of sound,” Mr Campbell told Buzzfeed.

The implants have already dramatically affected her confidence levels. “She wouldn’t talk to anybody [but now she’s] pretty much a social butterfly,” Mrs Campbell explained to the New Zealand Herald.

That’s love ... Alistair Campbell with his daughter Charlotte and their cochlear implants. Picture: Facebook

The diagnosis wasn’t completely unexpected as Charlotte’s mother, Anita Campbell, also had a cochlear implant, while her older brother Lewis, 8, has hearing aids.

The “cochlear implant” is Mr Campbell’s first tattoo, and he wanted to get it so he could show his love and support for his daughter.

He shaved his head to get the artwork done, but said he would let it grow out again — unless Charlotte wanted to see it. “Hey, my hair can grow back,” he said.

Mrs Campbell posted a photo of Alistair with his tattoo and Charlotte with her implant on Facebook, and it quickly went viral.

“The reactions have been overwhelming, mostly positive. Some negative comments have surfaced, they don’t bother me, we’re doing what is best for our daughter and our family,” Mr Campbell told Buzzfeed.