Debbie and John Nuzzo of West Windsor will be honored at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s “Moving Forward Crystal Ball,” a benefit gala in New Brunswick on Friday, May 10. She has chaired the gala in the past and works endlessly to raise awareness for diabetes. Together the Nuzzos have made it their mission to support JDRF in preventing, treating, and finding a cure for type 1 diabetes.
Debbie Nuzzo was born and raised in Brooklyn. After graduation from a girl’s prep school, she worked for a jeweler in New York City. “I love jewelry design, and that allowed me to be creative,” she says. When she later moved to Rye, New York, she worked with a high-end jewelry designer, earned her gemologist degree, and sold to the wives of the men who were her customers in New York City.
She met her future husband, John Nuzzo, then a senior vice president with LK Comstock, through her sister. “He was my brother-in-law’s best friend. They played baseball together,” she says.
“I want to raise awareness because people do not understand that people with diabetes live with it 24/7 and never take a holiday from it,” said Debbie Nuzzo, who was diagnosed with diabetes at age 19 — three months before her wedding. “It was the worst day of my life and the best day of my life,” she says. “It was absolutely devastating but it made me realize the importance of taking care of yourself.” (The News, April 30, 2010)
When the Nuzzos lived in Fairfield, Connecticut, Debbie was a volunteer with the Fairfield County chapter of JDRF. “It’s a good organization that has been near and dear to my heart,” she says. “More than 80 percent of donations go to research and we are all about research to find a cure.” When she moved to West Windsor she became active as a board member with the mid-Jersey chapter of JDRF. “The staff is amazing and they really put themselves out there for events,” she says.
The Nuzzos opened It’s a Grind in Plainsboro with her brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Cathy DiOrio of West Windsor, in December, 2006. “We all love coffee, and John was semi-retired from corporate America,” she says. “Dave and John went to California to get information, and now it’s a family affair.”
The DiOrio kids are all graduates of High School North. Alexandra is in graduate school at Arcadia University. Andrew is a senior at Rutgers, and Nicholas is a junior.
“They did not have the tools they have today,” says Nuzzo, remembering her own diagnosis. Today a glucose monitor makes her life much easier — she can get accurate readings eight to ten times a day. Using an insulin pump for more than 12 years has made the disease more manageable and less overwhelming. “You have good days and bad days,” she says. “It never goes away. It is always with you.”
Every age group has different issues with diabetes. “Five-year-olds do not understand, and teenagers do not want to be different,” she says. “Complications arise, and as you get older you have to be aware of cardiac, kidney, and nerve issues. You have to take responsibility.”
John is also involved with community service. He has donated more than 100 pints of blood, a donation he started making regularly more than 40 years ago. “My sister-in-law was in need of a blood transfusion before the birth of her first child,” he says. “That was the beginning, and I have been giving blood ever since. I only hope that I will inspire others to do the same. We can make a difference one by one.”
“It is so important for people to be aware that juvenile diabetes is on the rise,” says Nuzzo, who chairs her own team at the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes. “I am still selling the blue bracelets in the store, and our customers continue to support JDRF. I want them to know that any donation can make a difference.”
The Crystal Ball, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Heldrich Hotel, New Brunswick. Friday, May 10, 6 p.m. $250. 732-296-7171. www.jdrf-midjersey.org.
