Nikki's Fight For Life

Nikki Needs Us Now.

In the blink of an eye, everything can change. Never have I believed it more than in the past two and half weeks. If you know our best friend, Nikki, you know she’s the life of any party. Her humor and kindness are unmatched. She never misses out on a well-placed “your mom” joke and is a master competitor at board games. She and her wife, Kate, have been married for thirteen years (as of this month) and are the most adorable couple you’d ever hope to meet. Maybe you even met them in Provincetown just a few weeks ago.

But our dear friend Nikki found herself in a fight for her life after the unthinkable happened.

On the morning of October 25th, Nikki went in for a routine, out-patient procedure. She was home eating ice cream by that afternoon with Kate – who made Nikki’s favorite for dinner that night (mashed potatoes as a special treat). Many of us chatted with Nikki that afternoon and I can tell you that she was in good spirits and feeling well. There were many jokes and silly GIFS exchanged. The next evening, she noticed an elevated temperature of 99 and some aching. Kate said Nikki also had chills throughout the night. By the next morning, she’d be unconscious on a ventilator in the ICU—where she would remain for weeks.

Horrifically, the doctors concluded that Nikki had contracted an infection from the routine procedure and within 12 hours, her body had gone into septic shock. Despite medical efforts, her organs and systems began shutting down. Her kidneys failed, as did her liver. She was facing blood clotting issues. Toxins that her body could no longer filter out led to encephalitis (swollen brain). The infection itself was difficult to pin down, and Nikki wasn’t stable enough for surgery. The doctors did not expect her to make it through the first night in the hospital. Even when she proved everyone wrong and did push through that first 24 hours, the medical team let us know that it was a moment-to-moment situation, and that we could lose her at any point.

It's been a little over two weeks now, and Nikki is making progress. After 16 days in the ICU, she has graduated and is newly breathing on her own. The road to recovery will be a very long one. When the day comes when she is finally well enough to leave the hospital, it’s likely she will need rehabilitation before returning to her life and work. Nikki is a fighter who has already defied so many odds simply to still be here, so we know she will continue to fight her way to recovery.

But this also means she’s had to push pause on her everyday life.

Nikki is currently employed as a scientist in Maryland and has been for many years. Unfortunately, her job is not set up with short term disability, which means until she returns, she won’t be paid. Kate will need to return to work soon too, after using her time off to be at Nikki’s bedside each day. In addition, there will be sizable medical bills coming their way shortly as well as the expenses associated with rehab.

I will tell you that Nikki is the first one to step up and help her fellow human, and I’m hoping that in this difficult time, we can step up and help her and Kate so that they can place their focus on healing and recovery.

Some details about Nikki:

She’s an aspiring writer who recently won the Summer 2023 Writing Battle in the Summer Fling category. She’s currently working on her first fantasy novel.

She’s a fantastic knitter and I’m confident many of you have scarves, dragons, gloves, and hats that she’s gifted you over time.

Nikki joined the Sapphic Writing community over a decade ago as a host over at Cocktail Hour and a reviewer at The Lesbian Fiction Review. She then went on to serve a term on the board of the Golden Crown Literary Society. She’s moderated panels and been a panelist herself both at in person conferences and online, bringing her wit, charm, and intelligence to the organization.

She’s the youngest of three girls in her tight knit family who have rallied to her side in the midst of this emergency.

She and Kate are moms to Bork, the very silly cat.

Any donation is a gift and a show of support to Nikki and Kate, but if you’re not able to give at this time, would you show your support by sharing this page via text, social media, or email? Those who love Nikki and Kate would be ever so grateful. If we work together, we can make the difference in the lives of two people who could truly use a hand right now.