Donations Sought for Morris County Tattoo Shop Owner Struck by Rare Disease

It began as just some numbness and tingling in his hands and feet, likely from a pinched nerve related to broken collarbone sustained a few weeks earlier.

That’s what Rich Pizzutillo thought was happening, until matters became much worse. In just 24 hours, the Long Valley resident went from symptom free to being unable to stand and walk.

According to a GoFundMe page launched this past weekend, Pizzutillo, without warning, fell victim to Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder where the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. While there is no known cure for the disease, the severity of the illness can be lessened by therapies, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Pizzutillo was taken to Morristown Medical Center by ambulance in the early morning hours of Nov. 11, the donation page said. While there, he was diagnosed with GBS after eight hours in the emergency room and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

The disease progressed quickly, the page said, and by the end of the first week in the hospital, Pizzutillo was intubated and placed on a ventilator. Since then he’s been heavily sedated and only been awake for a few hours.

Doctors believe Pizzutillo can recover from the disease, but say it could take about a year, the page said.

Pizzutillo, a married father of two, is well-known throughout Morris County as the co-owner of Pure Ink Tattoo in Ledgewood. As an incentive to donate to the GoFundMe site, which can be found here, Pure Ink Tattoo will chose one random person who has donated to give a $500 Pure Ink Tattoo Gift Certificate. If the winner is not “a tattoo fan,” as the donation page states, the gift certificate can be auctioned off with proceeds benefitting the Pizzutillo family.

Pizzutillo is now on leave and receiving just 60-percent of his normal income. Add to that incurred medical expenses and other costs while he remains hospitalized, and the donation page was started more out of necessity than anything.

In just the first day, $7,175 poured in for the business owner and his family, with a goal of $20,000.

Find out more about the donation page and Pizzutillo’s story here.

Photo Credit: GoFundMe.com