Help my best friend recover with her family.

So, my longtime friend Nicole and her partner Jeff have had a hard time recently and need temporary financial help in order to feed and support their little family. Nicole underwent a scheduled C-section on the 22nd December 2017, delivering her beautiful son, Nikau, a little brother for Frankie (2).

All went well, and despite some initial blood glucose issues, Nikau was soon back from the special care unit to bond with his mum and dad. Nicole's pain, however, gradually increased over the next few days and her abdomen became distended.

Long story short, Nicole was eventually diagnosed with a perforated bowel - a life-threatening condition - and was given emergency surgery to resection her bowel and remove infected contents from her abdomen. She recovered in ICU before being moved to a surgical ward to adjust to life with an ileostomy bag and learn how to manage her pain.

She was unable to hold or care for her newborn son for his first two weeks of life, and she has sustained a life-altering injury. She is unable to return to work as scheduled, and is unable to singlehandedly look after her children. Her partner, Jeff, is supporting her at home and working when he can, but they are literally struggling to feed their family. So far they don't qualify for financial help from ACC because this "event" is not deemed to have been an accident. There is a Health and Disability Commissioner's enquiry underway, but Nicole and Jeff cannot survive financially with her unable to work, regardless of who is to blame for what happened.

Please donate a few dollars to help my friend recover and bond with her family without worrying about where their next meal is coming from. X