Parents Who Supported Their Kids In Inspirational Ways

The love a parent feels for their child is like no other love in the world. They give all of themselves to ensure their child will live a fulfilling life. Some parents are put in positions that require them to give even more than the average parent, and the ones that do, do so selflessly. These parents went the extra mile and supported their children in some truly inspirational ways.

Mom Loses Legs To Save Her Children

When a tornado tore through Henryville, Indiana, one mother risked her life in order to save her children. Stephanie Decker had just got home with her two children, Dominic, 8, and Reese, 5, when the winds began to get destructive. When the house started to shake and the glass from the windows was broken, Stephanie grabbed a blanket and wrapped her kids in it, then laid on top of them. The house was lifted off of the foundation and began to crumble. When Stephanie saw a beam about to fall on her, she didn't move a muscle, instinctively protecting her children. When it fell, it landed on her legs. When a pillar headed toward them, Stephanie used her upper body to shield her daughter's head. When the disaster had ended, Stephanie ended up with eight broken ribs, a punctured lung, and lost both of her legs. But her kids were fine.

Proud At Pride

It's not always so easy for a kid to come out to their mother or father. With all of the hardships the LGBTQ community faces, it's terrible to think that they wouldn't have the support of the people who raised them, but it is often an unfortunate truth. So it's pretty awesome to see parents openly supporting their kids for who they are, no matter what. This mom, in particular, drove her child all the way from Indiana to Washington D.C. so that they could attend their first pride festival together. And by this photo, it's easy to see they had a blast.

Patches

Geof Grubb is a stay-at-home dad who takes care of his 18-month-old daughter Layla. Layla was born with a small cataract in her eye and has had to wear an eye patch every day for two hours since she was four months old in order to help strengthen her vision. Layla has not really been the biggest fan of the patch, as most small children wouldn't be, so her father decided to come up with a way to make it fun. He bought her some plain patches, and every day he draws a new image on one with crayons, from Ninja Turtles to Star Wars to Lord of the Rings. He then tries to dress her in matching clothes and they have a fun photo shoot.

Tatted For His Daughter

Born deaf, New Zealand native Charlotte Campbell was fitted for a cochlear implant when she was four years old. Two years later, as she was getting ready to receive her second implant, her father Alistair decided to pay his beloved daughter a tribute. He tattooed an image of a cochlear implant above his ear to exactly match Charlotte's. At 38, this was Alistair's first tattoo. His wife wasn't really interested in tattoos, but after a lot of thoughtful consideration, Alistair decided to go through with it. Charlotte's response? "Cool!" She then proceeded to check the other side of his head to see if that was tattooed as well. Alistair said, "I wanted to show her, hey, I could go for a little bit of pain, too, even though it2019s nothing compared to what she goes through."

Donating Their Lungs

Marius suffers from cystic fibrosis, and by the time he was 12, his situation looked bleak, with his health declining more each day. He was living in the hospital, attached to a ventilation machine and a heart and lung machine. His last hope was a double lung transplant. Amazingly, both of his parents were suitable donors, so each of them donated a lung to save their son's life. The operation was a success, and after 155 days in the hospital, Marius was finally able to go home. Both parents said the decision was not a hard one, as they would do anything for their child.

Daddy Daughter Love

Yannick Vicente is an artist in France, and also a single father to his four-year-old daughter Ana00e9. Vicente started creating illustrations of him and his daughter doing everyday actions, like him combing her hair or working in the house, depicting the amazing love they share. "The love I have for my daughter and the moments we spend together are very strong." The images have received thousands of likes on Facebook and people across the world are falling in love with their relationship. While she is still too young to get the significance of these illustrations, Vicente is excited for the day she will be able to understand what they truly mean.

Raising a Transgender Child

Hillary and Jeff's daughter, Ryland Whittington, was born deaf. After receiving a cochlear implant, Ryland's parents hoped they'd overcome their greatest childhood challenge. But then as soon as Ryland started speaking, Hillary and Jeff realized Ryland was transgender and identified as male. When Ryland was five, they supported his decision to live like a boy. The Whittingtons knew that they would receive negative reactions from other family members, friends, and society in general, but the well-being of their child was more important. Now Ryland's parents' main goal is for him to have as typical of a childhood as possible and they will continue to love him unconditionally.

A Race For His Daughter

Thirteen-year-old Maddy Van Beek was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth. She cannot speak, walk or see, but that hasn't stopped her from being able to compete in a triathlon. That is because her father Rick enters every race with his daughter, which now includes a whopping 75 events. For the swimming portion of the triathlon, Van Beek tows his daughter with him in a kayak. He then picks her up and carries her (she weighs 80 pounds) through the running portion, and finally, for the biking section, pulls her along his bike in a special cart he built for her. How fast they cross the finish line is of no importance to Rick, it's the experience in itself.

My Two Dads

Brittany was torn. Her wedding day was two weeks away, and she had planned for her father to walk her down the aisle, but she also wanted to be sure her stepfather was included. After calling her father, Todd Bachman, in tears, Bachman came up with a plan. On the big day, Bachman decided at the last minute to make one slight change to the wedding procession. After pulling up to the wedding in a decorated golf cart, he stopped, got out and grabbed the hand of Brittany's stepfather, Todd Cendrosky, and had him join in the special moment of walking his baby girl down the aisle. Cendrosky was clearly touched by the sentiment and is seen crying in the wedding photos. According to the photographer, "There wasn't a dry eye in the house."

Panic Mode

Carlo Pettigrew was at a parent-teacher conference when he got a terrifying call. His 13-year-old daughter Corbin rang him in a panic and told him their house was on fire. The girl was at home with her seven-year-old brother, Carson. Her father told them to get out the house, but then the phone died. Carlo immediately rushed home, but in his panicked state hit the curb and got into a terrible accident in which he flipped over his SUV over. Without even so much of a hesitation, he quickly struggled his way out of the car and ran half of a mile to the house. When he arrived the kids were out of the house and safe.

Forever Linked

Jacob was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was three. Instead of getting numerous injections a day, the doctor gave Jason an insulin pump to where 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because of the pump, Jacob felt as if he was alone in the world since he was the only one he knew who had to always wear a pump like that. To help make him feel better about himself, Jacob's parents Philippe Aumond and Camille Boivin tattooed matching pumps on their abdomens, showing him that they are "forever linked" together. 201cIt is a great thing for him, and we were thrilled just to see his smile when he saw those pumps. It made our day, that2019s for sure.201d

Superheroes To The Rescue

UK-based Sarah Ivermee wanted to do something special for her son Freddie. Freddie was born with a virus called congenital CMV, and as a result, he was completely deaf in one ear and had moderate hearing loss in the other ear. He received a cochlear implant at two months old, but as he grew older, he became self-conscious about the hearing aid. Sarah thought that perhaps if the hearing aid was more visually appealing for kids, he wouldn't be so insecure about it. So she created a line of decorative hearing aids for kids called Lugs. They come in a variety of designs, such as Superman, Ironman, Frozen, Star Wars and Toy Story, to name a few. Her other son Charlie, who is not hearing impaired, thought the hearing aids were so cool, that he started to wear one himself.

Don't Be Afraid To Use Your Imagination

We live in a technological age and kids are staring at screens more than not. Susan and Refe Tuma wanted to do their part in helping keep their kids' sense of wonder and imagination alive. So throughout the entire month of November, while the kids slept, the parents would stage toy dinosaurs in various detailed and creative scenes and positions all around the house. The kids would wake up every morning excited to see what the dinosaurs had been up to the night before. Susan and Refe weren't afraid to get messy; they had the dinosaurs smashing eggs all over the floor, knocking over the candy jar, filling the sink with bubbles, ripping open cracker boxes, drawing on walls and kidnapping some of the other toys.

Conquering Styling His Daughter's Hair

Phil Morges received full custody of his daughter, Emma, when she was one. Emma already had a full head of hair, and it was always getting in her eyes, but Phil had no idea what to do with it. So he taught himself about hair clips and began to always carry them around with him.201cThen I learned about hair gel, and that was a huge victory.'201d He then taught himself how to do ponytails, buns and French braids, and after that felt like he could conquer anything.

Phil realized that there must be so many other dads out there who faced the same dilemma, so he got an idea. He launched Daddy Daughter Hair Factory, a free bi-weekly class held at International Academy in South Daytona, where dads come with their daughters of all ages and learn how to style their hair.

Customized Doll For Her Special Guy

For his sixth birthday, Miles told his mother he wanted two things: LEGOS and an American Boy doll. His mother, Gina DeMillo Wagner, was a bit stumped. LEGOS were easy, but American Boy dolls didn't exist. Miles' sister had bought an American Girl doll for her previous birthday, and it was customized to look just like her, so he wanted one that looked like him. But the company didn't produce boy dolls. So Gina decided to make one herself. She got a girl doll that shared her son's features, and transformed it into a boy. She ordered a Spiderman outfit on Etsy to fit the doll, since he loved Spiderman. Since then, American Girl has started manufacturing boy dolls. Perhaps Gina was their inspiration?

Department Of Ability

Emma White has lived her entire life in a wheelchair because she was born with Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus. Her father, Dan White, wanted Emma to be able to relate to other kids in the media but was having a hard time finding representations of kids with disabilities. So when Emma was three, Dan decided to create a comic book for her titled, "The Department of Ability," whose main character is a wheelchair-bound superhero whose powers came from her disability. Five years later, Dan has started working on the comic full-time, having been commissioned by Strongbones Children Charitable Trust. He also gives lectures at local organizations on life with a disabled child. Emma is now nine and loves to attend comic conventions with her dad.

Boy Reenacts His Parents' Nuptials

It's safe to say that the majority of us didn't get to attend out parent's wedding, and only get to experience it through memories and photographs. That wasn't the case for one little boy in particular. When he came across him mommy's wedding dress in storage, he felt pretty bummed out that he wasn't around to see his parents' big day. So his parents decided to reenact their vows just for him. Mom put on the wedding dress, and their son got to be the preacher and married his parents. The photo above was his reaction after the exchange of vows.

Lunch Becomes Art

Sarah Gonzalez's four-year-old daughter started to become extra fussy when it came to lunch. The little girl would have temper tantrums, refusing to eat anything healthy. So Gonzalez, a mother of six, started brainstorming on ways she could get her daughter to eat better. Gonzalez, who has had no formal art training, decided to make art creations out of her meals. She started making little fantasy scenes and adorable animals out of fruits, veggies, meats, and other snacks and uses food coloring to make it more realistic. Now her daughter, who used to refuse to eat veggies like celery and broccoli, will eat up every last piece.

Matching Scars

Eight-year-old Gabriel Marshall was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare form of brain cancer, and had to have brain surgery to remove the tumor. The surgery left Gabriel bald with a very large horseshoe-shaped scar on the side of his head. Gabriel told his father that he felt like a monster, because every where they went, people would stare. His father decided to do the only thing he could think to do to help ease his son's insecurities. He shaved his head and tattooed an image of a scar that looked exactly like Gabriel's. He told his son that if people wanted to stare, they'd have to stare at both of them.

Painting Of Pride

In a Tweet, Rachel claimed that her mother has not always been 100% supportive of her lifestyle within the LGBTQ community. But when Rachel was really bummed out over the fact that she had to miss a pride festival because of her new job, her mom went out of her way to cheer her up. She painted this rainbow tree for her daughter and gave it to her one morning before she went to work, proving that despite their differences in opinion, she still loved and supported her daughter all the way.

The Whole Gang's Doing It

Shea Serrano tweeted, "my cousin's baby wears a head-shaping helmet so he's got the whole family wearing helmets now this is the realest [expletive] I ever seen." Many of the actions being done on this list are real and amazing. You can't put a price on the love from a parent. They will love a child unconditionally and make sure that they are supported. After Serrano tweeted this photo, it prompted many others to reply and show that they too do the same thing with their children who have to wear a helmet.

Not Too Proud Father

On Instagram, Vincent Rella posted this photo with a heartfelt caption that read, "this guy had me tearing up today. My dad attending his first pride parade in DC with my little brother. I love you @rella305 and I wouldn't have you any other way #gaypride #family #loveaboveall." Now, as we all know, the first action for parents is to not automatically accept that their child plays for the other side. It may take a moment or two for them to be accepting so this was probably a big deal for the family and the father.

Mom Accepts No Extra Grandchildren

We all know that parents love when they get a new grandchild but of course there are a few exceptions to that rule. This example that you just read above is not an exception but rather an acceptance. You can tell by her vivid description of what children bring to the table that she is passionate about motherhood and all it brings even if it could be annoying. When her daughter said no grandchildren for her, she had to understand that maybe it isn't for everyone (something that the daughter most likely already knew before her mom said all that). Good job to mom for accepting.

Mother Son Moment For The Books

Tara Ryan Faupel is the mother you see above. She posted this photo on Facebook and had the strong words of, "I had an amazing day today marching with my child! We were inspired by all of the support! We can not rest until everyone is accepted for who they are!" That is absolutely true, Faupel. And marching with your son is the step in the right direction. It gives him courage and those who were too afraid to participate the same courage to hopefully take part at the next event.

Let That Kid Dream

We've heard of stories that involve little girls crying and pleading to get to wear their princess outfits to the dinner table but the dinner table is not the place to wear those. Most times, parents cave in and let them do it but if they don't there is more crying coming. Here we have a slightly different situation. This child wanted to come dinner in an astronaut suit so that is what he got to do. we don't know how much begging, if any, were involved but he got to wear it and we can bet he was extremely happy this night.

Dad Loves His Son

His name is Keith Anderson and he lives in Ontario. He has tattoos all over his arms of his son's childhood drawings to help remember his childhood. Such a unique way of remembering and permanent as well. He has been getting them done since his son Kai, was five years old.

"Recently, my son was there with me and he did some of the tattooings himself," said Anderson. "He loves it. No one I know has ever heard of tattooing original kid art before, and it's a lot of fun. People ask me what will happen if I run out of space; I guess I'll just get him to draw smaller pictures."

Copying Daughter In Support

Samantha took to Twitter to post this photo containing her using the pride filter for images alongside her mom using it as well. Her caption was, "when your mom just wants to love and support you so she copies your pride border on Facebook." What a great way to show your support by using the same cool filter (that also has a horror movie character on it for some odd reason). A supporting parent is something you can't match because it allows you as a child to be freer than they already were.

Helping With A Diet

For any of you out there that have been on a diet, you know that it isn't that fun when it comes to cutting out certain foods. To see the results is a great thing but the cost of that is really the worst part. Fortunately for this kid, one of the parents feel the pain and are here to help. a McDonald's cheeseburger can put anyone's urges to rest with just two bites. So what we see here is the burger being donated to the child anonymously, kind of saying this is their little secret.

Letting Your Child Choose The Plate!

This is what happens when you have a child with a vivid imagination who loves cartoons. We are all aware of the classic kids show Pokemon and the adorable little yellow creature Pikachu who is the star of the show. We aren't sure if the parents asked their child if he had any input on what the license plate should read or if the child just up and demanded that it read this. Either way, fostering your child's imagination and innocent nature is something all parents should do. So this is actually quite amazing to see.

Dad Feeling Prideful

Yet again, a father plays the role of supporting a child who chooses to be themselves and not conform to the social construct. Will Pickart posted this screenshot with the caption, "my dad went to the pride parade yesterday in DC while I couldn't be there and I just have to say I think that's really [expletive] cool." Yes, Pickart, it is cool. What is even cooler is that the father came to a realization that the whole thing is actually quite great. No room for judgmental parents out there when children want to be different.

Give Her The Pink Hair!

Rachel Ann Carpenter's daughter had requested if she could get her hair dyed pink but she swiftly refused. One year later, Nevaeh Carpenter survived a car crash and that is when Rachel figured it was time.

"I was at work when I got the call that Nevaeh had been in an accident involving fire while she was at summer camp," she told POPSUGAR. "They were doing a demonstration and it went horribly wrong and caught her on fire. When they first called us, no one would tell us over the phone how bad it was." So next time she asked, the answer was yes.

If That Is What He Wants Then So Be It

We all know that boys don't use makeup and don't even play with it. Well, the picture above defies that belief to the fullest. This boy had a passion for makeup since he was young and his mother helped nurture it. We know what you're thinking, is he straight or is he different? That shouldn't matter, what should matter is what makes him happy and doing makeup clearly does. So his mom took him to see Joey Killmeyer (a male makeup artist) so they could practice their techniques. That is nurturing at its finest.

Still Giving His Kid The Experience

"We want Fletcher to participate in as many events as he can," said the father who wrote the note you see above. His son, Fletcher, has a very bad case of Epilepsy so he is unable to eat certain things including candy. Fletcher's dad simply asked the neighbors if they could give his son a gift instead of a candy. If there are two things kids love it's candy and gifts. Fletcher may not be able to enjoy the chocolaty goodness of a Snickers bar but he'll have fun unraveling all his gifts!

One Prideful Drive

The kid on left is Taylor Hunt. Hunt, came out to his mother, something that may have been a bit hard for him as we all may empathize but he grew the courage to tell her. As a result, his mother did something courageous for him in return. Hunt posted this photo on Facebook and left the caption, "my mom drove me all the way from Indiana to DC for my first pride since coming out!" That is long ways to travel. But that just goes to show that parents are willing to go the extra mile for their kids.

The Challenge To End All Challenges

When your kid calls you out, what are you to do? You could easily just laugh it off and let them have their fun or you can accept the challenge, whatever it may be. Well, this challenge looks a bit risky for all of the older gentleman out there. But you weren't raised to back down were you? No, so you accept no matter how difficult or dangerous it may be. The daughter and her friends must have been really bored when they decided to do this. And the father was probably shocked when he found out him and his friends could accomplish this.

The In-Law Getting Involved

Instagram user e.i.feliciano posted this happy photo on June 11, 2017. Her caption was, "brought my dad and stepmom to #lgbtpride march in WeHo [West Hollywood]. #la #weho #pride." Now it would appear that she is having a way better time than the stepmom by the looks on their smiles but you can't knock the fact that she is out there being supportive even though it is not her biological child. That is now part of the job being the new mother anyway but still, she didn't have to participate. It just goes to show what love can do.

Extreme Parenting At Its Finest

This is an epic display of going up and beyond the standards of being a parent. Now, there is no exact rule book for parents to follow once they have a kid because it is just something that comes naturally to loving parents. Even if there were a rule book, nowhere would it say lay on your back and let your child turn you into a human ramp for his bike! She is putting her safety at risk (mainly her face) just so her child can have the time of his life. There is no telling how this actual situation played out but we can bet that mother was a bit nervous when she felt her son approaching for the jump!

When Mom Gets It

What you see above are lyrics from the rapper's Tyga most popular song. The child in this situation mistakenly send those harsh lyrics to his mother (we don't know how he or she did not notice this) and for a moment a mini panic attack was probably had. Luckily, for this child, the mom did not lash out like some parents would when their kid is singing vulgar lyrics like that and even worse, sending the lyrics to them. No, this mom was down with the get down and finished the song for her child.

Another Father Feeling The Pride

Did you ever think that you would see these many fathers this supportive of their kids that came out of the closet? At least you'd expect them to tolerate it if anything but not going all out like some of the fathers on this list are. Linda Cortez posted this photo on her Twitter saying, "my dad took my sister and her friends to LA Pride today and I just love this so much." Don't we all Cortez? Too many brave and great parents on this list to decide who gets the parent of the year award but they all are deserving.

A Mom Who Knows How Serious Gaming Is

When it comes to gaming, it can be the most important thing in a young boy's life. Friendships are kindled over games, friendships are also lost, but more importantly, it allows the kid to imagine freely. Playing a game allows you to put yourself in the shoes of the character you are using, thus putting you in their world which could be the world you've always wanted to be a part of but couldn't or a world that is fantasy and that's as close to the fantasy you can get. This mom was there for the cause and deserves a huge pat on the back.