Winning the battle after the battle

Oconto Falls Police Officer Nicole Blaskowski has found a way to cheat death, not by one bullet, but by two.

At around 10 a.m. Aug. 8, Blaskowski was shot twice — once in the head and another time in the back. A third bullet was fired at Blaskowski but never hit her.

Alisha Kocken, 29, was charged with nine counts including attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Her next scheduled court date is Nov. 19.

Two months after, Blaskowski is improving, but the incident has changed her as a person not only physically, but mentally.

“My physical balance was terrible at first,” she said.

Blaskowski’s gunshot wound to the head has caused her to suffer some sensory issues.

“I couldn’t shower alone without someone in the room. Noises, Sounds. They irritate me. During speech therapy I had to listen to loud noises and it was terrible. I had to have her make it stop,” Blaskowski said.

“I just couldn’t handle it at the beginning, but I’m getting better. They even have introduced sirens, and radio traffic. I’m adapting well. I’m analytical and pay attention to detail. So writing thank yous was a challenge to focus. Something that simple we take for granted. That was very difficult.”

Blaskowski said a lot has changed since being shot.

“I am more intentional with my time. Instead of saying to those friends you haven’t seen forever, ‘We should hang out’ but never do, I now do,” she said. “I literally stopped to smell the flowers the other day, buried my face in a hydrangea bush. My husband asked what I was doing, I explained I don’t think I’ve stopped to smell flowers in a long time. They’re beautiful.”

Blaskowski said her circle not only is small, but strong amazing humans.

Blaskowki is up every morning with her kids. She used to sleep in when her husband was home but now wants all the moments with them. She explained that her phone sits on the charger in her bedroom when her kids are home

Blaskowski wants to return to work again.

“I have no other purpose,” she said. “There was a time I wasn’t a cop and you know what? I was miserable. I was meant to be a cop. I know I have changed lives. I’m a helper. I will continue. People keep telling me I could retire and get disability, but why? Then what? I need to work. I already asked my doctor if I could go back to light duty. I was denied yet, but I will. This is not the end. This is just a setback. I’m coming back.”

Blaskowski explained she has more fear of going back than the actual shooting, only for the reason, “Can I cheat death again? How many chances does God give us? I don’t want my luck to run out. But I truly feel, that’s where I’m meant to be.”

While looking online and seeing all the different news articles about the shooting, she wanted to explain. She never handed her gun over. She never ran away. She fought until she was blacking out and couldn’t anymore.

“I fought until I couldn’t, and there was one blip when I thought I was going to die. Just one,” Blaskowski said. “I was held from the back of my hair, and I could see the muddy bottom steps of the building. I thought, no way is my kids’ mom going to die at the bottom of these muddy stairs. I will not die here. Not today. So I continued to fight.”

Blaskowski expressed gratitude for all the love and support she and her family has received. Everything from calls, texts, cards, food, and her law enforcement family meeting her outside of the hospital when she was released.

“I was totally surprised,” Blaskowski said about the greeting she received as she left for home. “I walked down the stairs, I saw Gillett’s squad with its lights on, then I saw all of the squads with the red and blues on. The blue family is truly like no other. I cried. I’m not emotional, but seeing the line of officers, some from throughout my career, most I’ve never seen before. A long blue line of cops standing there. For me. How lucky I am to have a family like this.”

Blaskowski said her children are handling it better than expected, but still, this has impacted their little lives greatly. Simple things like not wanting to leave the house without Blaskowski, refusing sleepovers away from home, checking in with her a lot.

The Blaskowski family has been working with the Wellness Co-Op, based in Oconto Falls, since six days after the shooting. The co-op is for first responders and military families who need counseling after a life-changing event.

“We are so blessed to have something like the Wellness Co-Op in our community,” she said.

The Wellness Co-Op is nonprofit and is run by donations. Blaskowski said she is so happy they had the co-op and Dr. Abby Baumgart Huntley as a resource because she wasn’t able to get in to see a psychiatrist until seven weeks after the shooting.

“It’s sad,” Blaskowski said. “I have my people that I know I can call and they can talk to me. Not everyone is so lucky. Not everyone knows how to reach out when they need to talk. Mental health is serious.”