Tattoo Artist Paints Toddler's Walker in the Most Amazing Way

Kai Grabill's new walker is covered in stars.

ByABC News
November 24, 2015, 1:07 PM
Henri "Kai" Grabill, 2, had his new walker painted by tattoo artist Nathan Gerger of Ankeny, Iowa two weeks ago.
Henri "Kai" Grabill, 2, had his new walker painted by tattoo artist Nathan Gerger of Ankeny, Iowa two weeks ago.
Kourtney Knapp

— -- One toddler's walker became a whole lot cooler after a local tattoo artist painted a galaxy scene on it.

"This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done, and I'm so glad these tattoo artists are getting the recognition that they deserve," mom Kourtney Knapp of Des Moines, Iowa, told ABC News. "So many people think people with tattoos are these big scary people, but most of them are the nicest people you will ever meet, just can't judge people by the cover."

Knapp said her son, two-year-old Henri "Kai" Grabill, was diagnosed with a rare chromosome abnormality called hyotonia, which causes low muscle tone.

PHOTO:Kai was born with a rare chromosome abnormality that causes him to have low muscle tone.
Kai was born with a rare chromosome abnormality that causes him to have low muscle tone.

Because of the weakness in his legs, hips and ankles, he uses a walker for assistance.

"[Kai is] really good with it, everyone is impressed," Knapp said. "He always has this huge smile, so everyone loves him. He's a great kid and he doesn’t let this get him down."

Knapp said Kai constantly needs new walkers as he grows.

Two weeks ago, Kai's latest walker arrived and Knapp decided to use the Internet to see how she could make it more appealing to him.

PHOTO:Knapp said Gerber painted the walker free of charge.
Knapp said Gerber painted the walker free of charge.

"I had posted something on our local swap page to see if there's anything I could do to personalize it for him," Knapp said. "They were helpful, but no one knew what to say about it. A couple of people said ‘Why don’t you just put duct tape on it,' but I didn't want to do that."

Knapp said she ended up reaching out to Nathan Gerger, a tattoo artist whose work she's admired on Facebook.

"He does a lot of paintings and seems like a nice guy, so I asked him [to paint Kai's walker] and he said he'd love to," she said. "I said 'How much is it going to be?' I was expecting some kind of price and he said 'I don’t charge for that kind of stuff.' I gave him a tip and some beef jerky."

PHOTO: Kai's mother, Kourtney Knapp, said Gerger painted a galaxy on his walker because the toddler loves stars.
Kai's mother, Kourtney Knapp, said Gerger painted a galaxy on his walker because the toddler loves stars.

Gerger painted a galaxy onto Kai's new walker to pay homage to the toddler's love for stars.

"[Kai] was all excited," Knapp said. "He loves it. He kept saying 'Look, stars!' I was so happy. We were really appreciative of it."

Gerger of Ironside Tattoo in Ankeny, Iowa, told ABC News he is glad Kai loves his new walker and he hopes to paint more in the future.

"My days is made if someone else's day is made," Gerger said.