'My Life Changed In 30 Seconds': Tattoo Artist Attacked In Joliet Bar

JOLIET, IL — A fundraising effort to assist a popular Joliet tattoo artist who was severely injured when he was attacked at a local bar last month has provided some assistance with his medical bills, but organizers of the effort say more help is needed as he faces a long road to recovery.

Mark Tomac sustained a fractured orbital as well as severe damage to his retina and corneal abrasions after police said he was assaulted at Bobby’s Tap on Nov. 17. Police said Joliet resident Jerry Leon Patton, 36, attacked Tomac and punched him in the head. According to court records, Patton had been released from the Will County Jail six weeks before and had been previously arrested in connection with another bar fight.

As of Monday, the GoFundMe effort has raised more than $7,200 toward a goal of $25,000 to assist Tomac, who was rushed to St. Joe's hospital following the attack. He was then transferred to Stroger Hospital in Chicago due to the severity of his injuries, according to Erik Schelling, who is one of three people organizing the fundraising effort.

In a post on the GoFundMe page, Schelling said that Tomac’s vision has not improved as much as doctors would have hoped since the attack. In addition, he sustained nerve damage which caused four teeth to be almost completely numb and that has caused headaches and partial loss of vision. The retina is being monitored because of the seeing of flashes of light, which could be a sign of the retina detaching.

Tomac said Monday that he is currently seeing flashes out of the bottom left corner of his left eye, which was injured in the fight. He said that the flashes indicate the level of damage that was done when he was attacked. He said that he has been a patron of Bobby's Tap for 25 years and had never had an issue before last month's attack.

"It's been completely life-changing — my life changed in 30 seconds," Tomac told Patch on Monday. "Obviously, with my vision, this is something that I need and this may be something I have to deal with for the rest of my life."

He added: "(Life has been) just significantly different."

Tomac said on Monday he faces an eight-week process of letting the eye heal, but that he will then have to return to an ophthalmologist for a follow-up before seeing another eye doctor to get his prescription changed for his glasses and contacts. He said Monday that he is currently having trouble focusing on things up close, which drastically affects his ability to work.

He is hoping to get a set of corrective lenses which will allow him to work. But he told Patch that he has not had any income since the attack as he and his family prepare to celebrate Christmas later this week.

Tomac is a husband and the father of four children who depends on his eyesight for his work as a tattoo artist. Since the attack, he has been unable to work, organizers say and at this time, it remains unclear when he might be able to get back to work.

“As we hope his condition improves, time will only tell,” organizers wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Mark has always been a giving soul and willing to help in any situation possible, we hope that in this time of need we can come together and help him and his family.”

Tomac told Patch that he was originally opposed to the GoFundMe being set up. But given the level of support that has come in since the bar fight, he remains grateful to those who have reached out to support himself and his family.

"I can't even put into words how amazing everyone has been as far as the support (I've received)," Tomac told Patch. "The amount of people who have not only donated but who have reached out to me asking me how I'm doing, how I am seeing — all these different questions. But the care that people have shown and the outreach has almost been overwhelming, but at the same time, I'm extremely grateful for it."

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