On December 22,2018 Our friend Nicole Bartlett was attacked and assaulted by three men while walking close to her home in the Mayfield area in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Nicole sustained major injuries from the assault, including a fractured skull, shattered fingers and numerous others injuries.
           During the first days Nicole’s condition was very touch and go and began to decline. She was moved into acute care where they could place a drain into her lower spine.             Cerebrospinal fluid was putting pressure on the fracture in her skull, preventing the fracture from healing and causing significant pain. Within a few days Nicole began to improve. The drain was taken out, the pain was a little less, fluid stopped leaking from the ear, and she began to feel hungry!
            On January 4, 2019 Nicole was released from the hospital. She is at home now but embarking on a very long road to recovery. Nicole’s recovery will be very intensive, involving cognitive physiotherapy, tracing for the brain, repairing/rebuilding her crushed fingers and relearning hand function and coordination again. The surgeons also had to remove a lot of Nicole’s hair in order to treat her fractured skull effectively. These are just a few of the many challenges Nicole is facing.
            In Nicole’s situation the police haven’t been providing adequate attention. On the day she was released from the hospital she saw two more victims come in who were attacked in the same area she was. These are violent, senseless crimes committed against innocent people and more needs to be done to ensure the public’s safety.
            As many people know Nicole has become a very successful artist entrepreneur. She’s very passionate about her work. She reduces and recycles old and used pieces of art to make sustainable jewellery and art. She has been featured on CTV, asked for her work to be sold at local shops, has started selling at markets and ships her beautiful work internationally. Her hands are her tools and she will need a lot of medical care and therapy to regain their use.
               Nicole is a bright light, a kind and gentle person. To alleviate pressure and stress for her we would like to raise money to help cover medical costs such as medications, therapeutic treatments and rehabilitation as well as to help with daily costs of living.
           On behalf of Nicole and The Bartlett Family, we thank you for your kindness in this time of need.