Support Nicole's Heart Recovery Journey

Thank you all for being here and having Nicole in your thoughts! I am posting this on behalf of Nicole and her family. To introduce myself and help you understand my relationship with them, I am Nathan Doherty’s (Nicole’s youngest son) girlfriend, Erika Hess. This page will also be helped run by Nicole's children, Mikayla, Devan, Nathan, and Emily, along with Mikayla's husband Justin Hoffman and Emily's boyfriend Max to continue giving updates and get the funds directly to Nicole. With the family’s permission, we have decided to create this page to help Nicole get through the next months as smoothly as possible, knowing that she will be unable to work, pay her bills, and take part in her daily living activities. I know that so many people love her and her family as much as I do and may not know how to help. Unfortunately, all we can do is pray and provide support for Nicole and her family as she comes out of this.

For those who do not know, here is some background.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Nicole experienced sudden chest pain early in the morning where her oldest son Devan was thankfully present to call 911. At this point, they were under the impression that Nicole had experienced a heart attack, in which immediate family was contacted, including her oldest daughter, Mikayla, Mikayla’s husband, Justin, her youngest son, Nathan, myself, her youngest daughter, Emily, Emily’s boyfriend Max, and her two sisters, Ann and Katie.

Once she reached the hospital, the doctors verified that she did not have a heart attack, but rather she had an aortic dissection. This means she had a tear in her aortic arch, which is much more serious. Family members noted above all gathered while Nicole underwent open-heart surgery to fix the tear.

During those six to eight hours of waiting, it was apparent that Nicole’s odds might be against her. Her family was there the entire time praying that she made it through, in which these hours were long and hard with the knowledge of not having any control over what the future held. At about 10:00 pm, the doctor confirmed that she made it through surgery as smoothly as it could have been, which was such a blessing!

As of today, November 15, 2024, she is continuing to be held on her ventilator through the night and will be reassessed tomorrow. She continues to remain stable as the doctors continue to work her up to being weaned off of the breathing tube. The next few days, please pray that her body continues to fight, as well as Nicole having the strength to continue to fight to survive and eventually breathe on her own. At this time, the immediate family will continue to be by her side as often as possible to make her comfortable and continue to remind her how important she is to them. Doctors believe that she will be in the ICU for the next week or so and continue to be monitored around the clock.

With that being said, this medical emergency will take a toll on Nicole, not only physically but mentally as well. Might I add, the day before this occurrence, Nicole found out that her transmission went out in her car and that she would need to find a means of transportation once she gets out of the hospital. She currently is without a car, living in Appleton 40 minutes away from family, and will be dealing with an abundance of stress coming out of this surgery. Through the past few days, her family believes that it may be best to move her into an apartment in Green Bay and out of her apartment in Appleton that currently requires a set of stairs to get to. This may not be adequate for Nicole when she becomes able to live at home again and will be closer to family in Green Bay. This experience alone coming home after a serious experience in a new home and place will be a huge adjustment and most likely, very stressful and frustrating. Rent bills, moving bills, medical bills, and everyday necessity bills will be a huge stressor for Nicole when she gets out. Our goal is to reduce this stress as much as possible.

On behalf of Nicole Doherty, and her immediate family, Devan (oldest son), Mikayla (oldest daughter), Nathan (youngest son), Emily (youngest daughter), Ann (Nicole’s sister), and Katie (Nicole’s sister), we would like to start a GoFundMe for her while she recovers. We’re hoping with your help, we can decrease the stress as much as we can as she recovers. It is unsure how long her recovery will be. Nicole will most likely be needing physical therapy after she is out of the ICU and continues to adapt to her life under the circumstances. It will be a long and hard-up road battle for the unforeseeable future, and we are asking for your help.

Whether you can give a donation or send prayers to Nicole and her family, we greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much for being on this journey with her and her family. We will continue to provide updates on this page to reduce the continuous texts and questions directly to family members to give them their space while they also maneuver their mom’s and sister’s well-being and future.