Nicole Rikard - LEO Suicide Widow - Medical Bills

On December 9th, 2015, Nicole Rikard was at a training course in Florida for her job as a crime-scene forensic technician. Her husband Sergeant John Rikard had stayed home so he could get extra hours at work. Nicole texted him throughout the day, like she always did, but today was different. Today she didn’t receive a reply. Because John worked the night shift with APD and was on a detail earlier in the day, she didn’t think much of it.

“I texted him again around 9 and said, ‘just call me, just let me know you’re okay,’” she said.

Shortly after, one of his coworkers texted Nicole to ask if she’d heard from John.

They said he never came into work that day. “It was immediate…. The feeling that everything just drops in your body and you get these warm and cold prickles all over your body”. I told them to go to the house.

Nicole and John lived in Clyde and worked in Asheville, so John’s fellow APD officers had a relatively long trek to their home. A wave of frantic anxiety swept over Nicole as she waited and thought about what may have happened. “Then my phone went silent for 36 minutes,” Nicole said.

John’s lieutenant finally called with the news. John had taken his own life.

Nicole was beyond heartbroken, shocked, scared, and felt so alone, to say the least. She didn’t get much support from the department and she had countless residual losses after John’s death.

We met Nicole through Blue HELP and she has become our very good friend over the past few years as LEO Suicide Widows. We call ourselves “BWFF”, Best Widow Friends Forever. We lean on each other 24/7/365 and we wouldn’t survive without each other’s support. We even have matching tattoos from the first time we all met in person! The bond we share indescribable.

Recently, Nicole has been sick. Our dear friend and fellow widow is in dire need of our help. She has been hanging on for many years since her husband John took his own life, but lately all of her mental and physical ailments that stem from her trauma and PTSD have become too much for her to carry. Fortunately, Nicole has reached out for help and is seeking medical care! This is exactly what we want everyone to do before it gets to feel like a completely hopeless situation. She has been so strong and is fighting a hard battle. We are so proud of our friend. However, while she has been getting the treatment she needs, her bills are piling up. She had to take FMLA leave from her job without pay. Her mortgage and all of her bills still need to be paid and she’s had to pay someone to watch her house and her cherished dog Bristol. On top of that, many of the medical bills are not covered by insurance and the amount is growing quickly, which is overwhelming, as anyone can imagine.

Her family and us have helped as much as we can, but it’s not nearly enough. We are asking for your help to assist Nicole in getting the treatment she needs and to help her feel less overwhelmed. Any little bit you can contribute will help.

Thank you for your support!

Kristen Clifford, Melissa Swailes, & Erin More … “BWFF”