The Internet can be a cold and cruel place.
Even when it comes to a father comforting his very sick child.
In 2014, Heather Whitten and her husband, Thomas, watched painfully as their one-year old son suffered from endless vomiting and diarrhea.
They had no idea what was wrong and nothing they did could help little Fox feel better.
Desperate to help in any way he could, Thomas stripped down and held his infant in the shower, staying there for two hours because it offered Fox at least a little bit of comfort.
A photographer by trade, Heather snapped a couple pictures because “it was just beautiful,” she told The Today Show, adding of Thomas:
“It was not surprising or anything out of the ordinary; it’s how he has always been with the kids."
About 18 months after the caring incident took place, Heather shared the photo (below) on Facebook because it fit a theme of misunderstood sexuality for a class she was teaching.
But while the image has received over 140,000 reactions and been shared over 32,000 times… it has also been deleted twice by Facebook.
The company initially claimed the photos violated its privacy policies, although Facebook did issue an apology after its second restoration.
The same can’t be said for critics of the picture, as many believe it’s inappropriate for Heather to have posted.
"I was taken aback by how many people missed the story or didn’t even look past the nudity to find the story," she wrote online in response to the controversy.
"They were just hung up on them both being nude and being in the shower. I had crossed a line. It was too intimate. It shouldn’t be shared publicly. But, I disagree.
"My family may be different than yours. But, that doesn’t make your way right or my way wrong. You may never take images of your family like I do… you may never share images of your family like I do.
"But, that doesn’t give you the right to silence my voice. To take away my right to share our experiences in an uncensored way. There is nothing sexual or exploitative about this image."
It’s worth noting that Fox was diagnosed with salmonella and has made a full recovery.
Is Heather worried about what Fox will say when he’d old enough to see and understand the photo?
No way. Quite the opposite.
"I think it would be really powerful to show my son [the picture of] him vulnerable and wrapped up in his father’s arms," she says.
She adds that the photo shows "this is the kind of man that your father is and I hope that [Fox] will see that and never be ashamed or embarrassed by it."