Powerful photo of father comforting sick child in the shower goes viral

A powerful photo of a dad cradling his sick son in the shower has gone viral, despite being removed by Facebook. Heather Whitten snapped the photo of her husband, Thomas with their son, Fox and posted it on Facebook.

All night the almost 1-year-old vomited and had diarrhea; nothing seemed to make him better. In an attempt to soothe and clean him, her husband, Thomas, stripped down and sat in the shower with Fox for two hours.

"Fox would be hospitalized that night for salmonella poisoning. It was a powerful moment for us as parents," wrote Whitten. "As I sat in the shower with the two of them I was just overwhelmed with the scene in front of me. This man. This husband and partner and father. He was so patient and so loving and so strong with our tiny son in his lap."

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Although Whitten felt like she was witnessing a special moment for them as parents, people were quick to comment on the nudity in the photo.

"I was taken aback by how many people missed the story or didn't even look past the nudity to find the story," wrote Whitten.

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Whitten said Facebook removed the photo for apparently violating its photograph rules, but she has a message for their critics.

"You may never share images of your family like I do. But, that doesn't give you the right to silence my voice," wrote Whitten. "There is nothing sexual or exploitative about this image. There aren't even any "private parts" showing."

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Thousands of people on Facebook supported Whitten and she has since re-posted the photo which has been shared more than 32,000 times and received more than 137,000 likes.

"I hope that one day there will be a platform that not only allows this kind of freedom for families and artists like my own... but, welcomes them without fear," wrote Whitten.

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