Nicole LaForest — Veterinary Nurse

Nicole is one of the hardest working LVT’s that has ever graced our profession with 7 years of experience. Her career started in the shelter where she devoted countless hours to rehabbing death row animals. She entered into specialty medicine in ’12 at an emergency hospital in Seattle. In ’15, she began working double shifts at a large ortho. & regenerative medicine practice during the day & in triage at night with little sleep in between. Nicole had to make one of the hardest decisions of career & transitioned into ortho. and regenerative medicine. Now, she flies around the world teaching surgical skills, regenerative medicine & patient advocacy to students, VT’s, VA’s and even DVM’s. Nicole lends her time as the President Elect of the WSAVT & gives a needed hand to our communities’ wildlife & research. In ’18, Nicole did one of the most heroic things a person could do in their lifetime. While driving home from work, she was rear ended by a truck driving 60mph. Her car was crushed as it smashed into 2 vehicles. She has hearing loss in her left ear, mouth wounds and broken teeth. Despite her bloody appearance, she ran to each of us in the crash to check on those who were hurt. Another car had crashed & their airbags deployed. Nicole pulled 3 children from their seats and rushed them across traffic to safety. After being witness to her commitment over the past several years; I am honored to say her commitment for patient care, 2 or 4 legged, exceeds far beyond our practice’s walls.