Hecker, Illinois - When you want to modify a part of your body that you’re not thrilled on and plastic surgery isn’t an option, getting a tattoo is the next best thing!

That’s the message tattoo artist Eric Catalano hopes to pass along, anyway. As the owner of Eternal Ink Tattoo Studio in Hecker, Illinois, Catalano sees his fair share of clients wanting to cover up the tattoo choices from their past. But those aren’t the only cover-ups he’s now known for.

The 40-year-old artist dove into the world of paramedical tattooing after he inked some extremely realistic fingernails onto a man whose fingertips were sliced off by a fan belt in a construction accident back in 2018.

What his colleagues first thought of as a joke, according to the Palm Beach Post, quickly turned into amazement and respect after seeing the final product: two tattooed fingernails that looked amazingly realistic. Catalano wasn’t totally new to the tattoo reconstruction game. He learned proper shading and graphing techniques while working with breast cancer survivors to tattoo areolas onto their breasts after having mastectomies.

Although he books regular tattoo appointments most days of the week, charging a set rate per hour, Catalano dedicates one day to paramedical tattooing at no cost. On what he now calls "wellness Wednesdays", Catalano does around eight reconstructive tattoos, like drawing up belly buttons for those who have had tummy tucks, and nail beds for amputees.

How does he afford to book these appointments at no cost to the customer? With the help of a GoFundMe page dedicated solely to covering the costs of these paramedical tattoos!

The page has currently raised over $17,000 to allow Catalano to continue with the weekly wellness Wednesdays, which are helping so many people take pride in their bodies.