The Medical Artwork of Dominic Quagliozzi
Date Posted: Friday, January 16, 2026
Dominic developed cystic fibrosis-related insulin-dependent diabetes as a result of a double lung transplant in 2015. It’s a unique type of diabetes common in people with CF, making them insulin-deficient. The pancreas still produces some insulin, but not enough to keep them healthy and maintain good nutrition.
An artist by trade, Dominic first caught the attention of diabetes nurse practitioner Alisa Kosla when she entered the room for his appointment and saw the following sketch on the exam table paper.
Dominic has been in and out of hospitals and doctors’ offices his entire life. Much of his artwork focuses on the interactions he has had with the healthcare system and his experiences dealing with a chronic illness. He uses hospital materials to create art that shows people what he's going through and educates them.
Dominic created this business suit from hospital gowns he wore while in a coma before his transplant. He wears the suit when he speaks at medical conferences.
“I use my art as a visual tool to discuss patient experience, empathy, and other related topics.”
This flag was created with hospital gowns that he wore. He calls it Medicare for All.
“The gown is worn like a uniform for patients and serves as a reminder that the healthcare needs of far too many Americans are not currently being met,” he said. “The flag represents freedom for health insurance to be separated from its dependencies on employment and employers.”
Prior to using a continuous glucose monitor, Dominic would check his blood sugar with finger sticks. Instead of clotting the blood on this finger with gauze or cotton, he used drawing paper. He created works of art using those blotches, with the blood sugars written below each.
His latest project created replica sports jerseys using hospital gowns, surgical linens, and ace bandages, "materials that have shaped much of my life." He drew and painted directly on the hospital gowns using colored pencils and graphite, allowing the original patterns to peek through.
Tony Conigliaro joined the Boston Red Sox in 1964 as a 19-year-old and quickly became one of the league’s most exciting young hitters, leading the American League in home runs by age 20. In 1967, he was hit in the eye with a fastball, leading to partial blindness, which threatened his career. Though he made a courageous comeback, he was never quite the same. His injury remains one of baseball’s most heartbreaking “what ifs."
"Since I was sick so often as a kid, my relationship to sports was through art rather than being able to actually play. So this project was really fun for me to explore that and sort of get back to my roots as a kid making art about my favorite athletes."
Cam Neely was a dominant right winger for the Boston Bruins who sustained a serious knee injury during the 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs. By 1993, recurring knee issues and developing arthritis severely limited his ability to play. Despite undergoing multiple surgeries and attempting comebacks, Neely was never the same. He played only 162 games over his final five seasons before retiring in 1996.
Reggie Lewis was a rising star for the Boston Celtics in the early 1990s, a two-time All-Star and team captain known for his smooth scoring and leadership as the franchise’s post-Larry Bird centerpiece. He died suddenly at age 27 in 1993 after collapsing during an offseason practice, the result of sudden cardiac death linked to an underlying heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that often goes undetected.
While the lung transplant left him with diabetes, failing kidneys, and liver problems, Dominic has no regrets. “It’s given me more than a decade of additional years during which we had a son, and my quality of life is much better.”
View more of his work at ArtistDominic.com or follow him on Instagram @ArtistDominic.