Zipper buddies

Four-year-old Everly "Evie" Backe spent the first year of her life in and out of the hospital. 

• Born with a congenital heart defect, the Illinois girl has already had three open-heart surgeries – which left her with a large scar along her chest.  

As Evie has grown older, she's started to take notice of the scar more and more. Her family lovingly calls it her "zipper," as it's what the doctors used to open her up and fix her heart. 

❤️ Seeing double... After noticing his daughter's insecurity starting to grow about the scar, Evie's dad Matt decided to take action. 

• He went to the closest tattoo parlor and had replica scar inked onto his own chest. The two now lovingly call each other "zipper buddies."  

💬 Bottom line: "He didn't want me to be alone," shared the adorable Evie. "He wanted to be special like me."

Note: an earlier version of this story ran on March 16, 2022. Our Positive DONUT writer Kailyn is currently deep in 50-hour/week rehearsals for another slate of upcoming live shows (which is taking a lot of her focus). Plus, this tale was so sweet we needed to share it again.