Nicola Barter - Brain Surgery Fund
Donation protected
Dear family and friends,
My best friend Nikki will be undergoing brain surgery in October, and we need help. She was diagnosed with an AVM in 2012 after she had a seizure at work at the age of 20. Nikki is an amazing woman and loving daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend and colleague. We’ve seen her work hard to build a healthy happy life and we don’t want this to slow her down any more than it will.
An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation. They are rare with fewer than 200,000 US cases per year; most people are born with them. The biggest concern related to AVMs is that they will cause uncontrolled bleeding, or hemorrhage. Nikki’s AVM is located on the left temporal lobe of her brain and was 4cm long, 2cm wide when detected. At the time, she was deemed not a good candidate for surgery. In January 2013 after experiencing 6 grand mal seizures she underwent 5 sessions of stereotactic radiosurgery to shrink her AVM. Between 2013 and 2015 there was some shrinkage but not much and none since then. In 2018 there was some minor bleeding and in 2019 her neurologist determined she was a candidate for surgery and advised operating to remove it. Because of where her AVM is located, surgery comes with the risks of partial or full loss speech, memory and vision. Rehab will be long and intense. She will need to work with a speech pathologist, a cognitive specialist and was told she may never drive again due to her potential loss of vision.
Nikki is a fighter and has been pursuing a healthy life for as long as I’ve known her. I believe she will recover and be free to pursue life without seizure medications and anxiety from having an AVM. She needs to go into surgery with good mental health and won’t be working for 12 months post-op. It is for this reason we reach out now. The funds will be used to cover counseling not covered by insurance and living expenses from not having an income.
We have lots of people keeping Nikki in their heart and hope you will join us. We are asking for financial support via this site. I ask you from the bottom of my heart to help Nikki prepare for surgery and support her afterward. If you cannot donate, please keep her close. I am committed to doing all I can for my bestie and am so incredibly grateful for any support you can provide.
Love you all,
Rachel Gilfoil
My best friend Nikki will be undergoing brain surgery in October, and we need help. She was diagnosed with an AVM in 2012 after she had a seizure at work at the age of 20. Nikki is an amazing woman and loving daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend and colleague. We’ve seen her work hard to build a healthy happy life and we don’t want this to slow her down any more than it will.
An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation. They are rare with fewer than 200,000 US cases per year; most people are born with them. The biggest concern related to AVMs is that they will cause uncontrolled bleeding, or hemorrhage. Nikki’s AVM is located on the left temporal lobe of her brain and was 4cm long, 2cm wide when detected. At the time, she was deemed not a good candidate for surgery. In January 2013 after experiencing 6 grand mal seizures she underwent 5 sessions of stereotactic radiosurgery to shrink her AVM. Between 2013 and 2015 there was some shrinkage but not much and none since then. In 2018 there was some minor bleeding and in 2019 her neurologist determined she was a candidate for surgery and advised operating to remove it. Because of where her AVM is located, surgery comes with the risks of partial or full loss speech, memory and vision. Rehab will be long and intense. She will need to work with a speech pathologist, a cognitive specialist and was told she may never drive again due to her potential loss of vision.
Nikki is a fighter and has been pursuing a healthy life for as long as I’ve known her. I believe she will recover and be free to pursue life without seizure medications and anxiety from having an AVM. She needs to go into surgery with good mental health and won’t be working for 12 months post-op. It is for this reason we reach out now. The funds will be used to cover counseling not covered by insurance and living expenses from not having an income.
We have lots of people keeping Nikki in their heart and hope you will join us. We are asking for financial support via this site. I ask you from the bottom of my heart to help Nikki prepare for surgery and support her afterward. If you cannot donate, please keep her close. I am committed to doing all I can for my bestie and am so incredibly grateful for any support you can provide.
Love you all,
Rachel Gilfoil
Organizer and beneficiary
Rachel Gilfoil
Organizer
North Vancouver, BC
Nicola Barter
Beneficiary