It's Been Two Years...

   Since I last posted, and that means there's a LOT to catch you up on. I had stopped posting because I wasn't sure if anyone was still reading the blog, but I logged on today and saw that there were twenty-nine people who checked the blog out just last month, so here I am. I'm back. Can't leave you guys hanging, right?
    Let me start with saying that I am doing just fine. I had a routine appointment up in St. Louis just before Christmas, where we were told again that my heart hasn't gotten any worse, but it hasn't gotten any better, either. I'd been going to cardiac rehab, which is usually something patients do immediately following their heart attack, so that I could exercise whilst being monitored in a stable environment. I had finished the week before my appointment, and was under the impression that I was done, but the doctors decided to send me back. The exercise is definitely nothing like a workout you would expect from a healthy person, but it's just enough to help me get back in shape, and though I'm not a big fan of walking on a treadmill three times a week for half an hour, hopefully it'll be helpful for me in the long run.
     If you read my last few posts, then you might remember that my pacemaker seemed to move around quite often. It's finally decided to sit in one spot, and now it only moves occasionally-- For instance: If I sleep on my left side, the pacemaker will move closer to the left-- which is great, and a lot less painless than it used to be. I still can't move my left arm too much... definitely not over my head, which means no fantastic stretches when I wake up, and I can't carry too much with my left hand or I'll feel it pull near my pacemaker and I'll be sore later.
     The battery life on a pacemaker generally lasts an average of seven years, but with my being 100% dependant on it, I've cut my battery life nearly in half. I'll have to have the battery replaced this year, most likely during the summer, as well as my yearly catheterization, so maybe they'll just do them both at once and I won't have to come back! A girl can hope, right?
As for the non-medical things, Dad's job has taken us back to Chicago (But not for much longer!) so rehab is done up here, and when the weather is decent, we come home on the weekends. We are currently snowed in. Guess we won't be going anywhere for a while... though Target is having a 20% off all books sale....
     In way of writing, I've successfully finished my first novel, which is part one in a Young Adult urban fantasy series. I'm currently more than halfway through my Young Adult contemporary novel, as well as halfway through a YA Dystopian. I've been working more steadily on the contemporary, though, and according to my calculations, I'll have it finished within the next two weeks. I also started a book blog about a year ago, so I encourage you to check out the Book Blogging tab and see what that's all about!
     And in case you're wondering, the crew is still together. Almost all of our group have stuck together, and the four of us are together almost every time we come back home. If we're still together in a year, we will have defied the odds and stuck together all the way through not only middle school, but high school as well. And then it's on to college.
    Crazy, right? To think that college is already coming up for us? It's definitely something that's always on our minds. Most of us know where we're going, or at least where we'd like to go and what we're shooting for, but there are always those who haven't quite found their niche yet. I tell them not to worry.. it'll come to them. As for me, I've known for a few years now that I want to attend Southwest Baptist University, and I've already got the tshirts and hoodies to represent my future college. I'll major in marketing, so that I can be my own publicist/agent after I graduate (But that doesn't mean I won't be querying and trying to get my book published before then!), as well as minor in Youth Pastoring. That's what my school future holds. Unless something dramatically, and boy do I mean dramatically, changes in the next year.
     As always, feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments, or get in touch with me via any of the options under the Get In Touch Tab.
    Much love.
    Jolly, out!
   

Well hello there:) If anyone's still reading, please pop a comment below so I know I'm not writing this to an audience of 0! So I honestly am going to be extremely short and boring this month, becuase everything is pretty much the same. Defibrillator moved a little, as always; I played volleyball with my cousin and my BFF, very gently, and it still hurt my left side, so now volleyball can be added with baseball and basketball as "Sports it would be stupid of me to play" but Soccer is still in:) And I'm not completely giving up on my volleyball.. I shall find a way! Oh oh oh Doctor's appointment: September 9th & 10th. Pre-cath testing on the 9th... Stress test, EKG, Echo, Urinalysis, X-ray (Maybe), anddddd... I think that's it. Then the next day is the Cath. I seriously hope I get the same nurse as last time, because I really liked her. Shout out to her if she's reading this! One of my friends just moved to St. Louis as well, so I get to play tourist when I go up there for the surgery! I feel bad for him, having to deal with hyper me at the zoo... One of the guys that flew with me in the Med-evac actually works at the zoo too ( haha that rhymed;)!!! I forgot until just now!! I'll have to go see him and tell him thank you!! Wow you guys being such great listeners really brought that thought to the surface. Many thanks to you people. So I'm back on my Hebrew class... Having a blast with it... Really really love the story of David and Jonathan <3 Also I got sick from my allergies two weeks ago... got over it last week... got it back again this week.. its a viscious cycle -.- But it's going away again, so all is well. The book I'm co-writing is coming along really really well! And now Its getting late-ish so I must go:( If anything amazing happens I'll post again! Adios

     Wow guys its been like 3 months since I've updated... Thank you Mrs. Edgerton for reminding me :) OK let me see... what's gone on since February? I had my last appointment in March, and everything went extremely well. I'm now being seen by the heart failure team and I have had no changes what so ever health wise. Pacemaker is still painful, but not so much anymore. Only if I, say, use that arm a little more, then it will ache and I'll have to stop. Or if I lay on my left side, though I've built up some tolerance towards that and now I can almost lay on that side pain-free. I can now officially stretch with both arms as high as I can reach, which I did for the first time in a year just the other day. The pacemaker still has a mind of it's own and likes to move around on me from time to time, which is probably the most painful times throughout the entire Heart Block/Surgery era. It doesn't help that my bra strap rubs right on the part of the pacemaker where the skin is the thinnest... Oh well, I just have to watch that. Thank God for strapless <3 I do have another procedure this September. It's a catheterization, same as last September, except this time they are going to take a biopsy (A piece of my heart, so small it's really only fibers, that will help them discover more about my specific condition and how to treat me better), and run stress tests and labs and routine exams a few days before. No biggie, but I did ask for full anesthesia like last time. They wanted to give me the Versed drug to calm me down, but I was ready and calm so it wasn't needed. I don't like the side affects, and I really would like them to just knock me out, do what they're going to do, and be done. And I' m sorry if these posts sound kind of detatched... I don't mean to do that, but sometimes it just happens. I do still have trouble sleeping some nights. I get stressed out and I can't explain why. I haven't had one of those nights in some time though, so maybe I'm over them for good. Been working really hard on my school work, and I have a Bible class that I'm really super duper enjoying. I get to read the Bible every day and we do discussions and it's just amazing. I feel so much closer to Him during those classes. I said in my last post that I'd stopped writing for a while. With school it's just been really difficult, but I am now back in buisness, writing a brand new story with my best friend (You probably know her if you know me...) So I'm really excited about that. I got a four wheeler guys.... just sayin... It's a blast, and, just, yeah. Okay its amazing :))))) I'm trying to thinkkkk... Ohhhhh I gots my permit now, guyss. Legal driver here, i promise I'll try not to run you over, but it IS a really big truck... I hope you guys all have insurance ;)

Well hello there:) So its officially February guys! Only a little while longer til Spring!! WooHoo! I'm ready for the warmth! Funny.. Just a few months ago I was ready for the cold.. hmmm... Am I the only one who didn't realize it was Groundhog Day until like, 5pm? Surely not... Everything's going well with my heart, nothing new to tell there really. My left arm is sore a lot, like when I push off of the bed, or open a door with it. The nurse that handles the pacemakers called for a regular check to see if I was having any problems, and when we brought up my arm, she said its most likely an effect of my weight. Since I'm so skinny there's no fat for my pacemaker to squish into :) Therefore I feel everything. But I'm going to get a chest X-Ray next visit, just to be sure, and I'm very excited for that! "Why?" might you ask... because having a hunk of metal in my chest means that it will show up on an X-Ray, which means I will be able to see not only the device, but the wires and screws in my heart as well. I wonder how many of you freaked out, or made funny expressions when you read that? I have recently found out that talking about my heart and my episode actually bothers some people. I knew it affected a couple people, but apparently there's a lot more than I realized. I could sit in a room with a thousand people and have them ask me questions- whether they be just about my condition, or about my heart attack, and how I felt. Or if it scared me, or anything at all relating to my heart- and it wouldn't bother me in the least. Some are a little more sensitive I guess.. so if any of you have questions, please don't wait for me to answer them in my posts.. go ahead and comment and ask. I will answer it as soon as I can. I enjoy the questions:) Ok outside the most important organ in the body, My book has been put on hold due to some VERY constructive self-criticism. But I've got some new, better ideas in my note pad to get started on. I did write a poem though! Which, If you know me well enough, you know is really odd.  I'm not the poetic type.. my words come out brutally honest and blunt; and I like it that way. I get straight to the point, and I won't lie, even if someone's feelings will get hurt. Honesty is always the best policy, even if someone hurts over it, because they will appreciate your opinion and truthfulness more than they will a person who tells them what they want to hear. Anyone been doing some reading lately? Me too, so lets swap some good book titles, eh? I recommend the Shiver trilogy, its a good sci-fi romance story, quite possibly the absolute best books I've read in my entire 15 1/2 years. So yeah, y'all should read it. Them. Read them. Cuz it's a trilogy. Ok anyway, school's going great, I love my Health class, and the next unit is going to be over (can I get a drum roll please?) CARDIAC!! WOOOHOOO!! I'm going to pass this class with flying colors, guys! I have a test in two days though, which I'm not hating, because I like tests, but I could use a little prayer to help me remember all the terms. Thank you to those of you who pray <3 Did you know than when I woke up from my episode, the third or fourth time, in the hallway, that I was upset because I'd be missing MAP testing the next day? Well I did. Yep. I've been told that most people wouldn't care about missing state-wide testing, may even be excited, but hey. I'm a quirky kid, what can I say? Ok so I guess I'll blog to you guys soon. Love you All <3 oh and P.S. There's a couple songs out that I'd like you to listen to. They have absolutely nothing to do with anything, other than they say Heart. But Heart Beat by Ross Lynch, and Heart Attack by One Direction. So yeah, check them out when you have time. They're my two favorite artists. Ok its 4am I gotta go. Byes!

Guys, I am so so sorry! I have derelicted my duty of updating my blog:●{ Been so caught up in holidays and life in general that I completely forgot.  Oh, and thanks to one of my losest friends, I am now completely and fully obsessed with British/Irish boy band One Direction ♡♡ I'm gonna get better at this. Cross my Heart! See what I did there? ;) Ok so heart wise, I'm doing Great! No more doctor visits until March. MARCH!!!! Can you believe it? I haven't been since September!! Its a record for me since all of this started! My pacemaker and I have been betting along swimmingly as of late. I can still feel it when it kicks in, but I've learned to kind of tune it out. Now i can pretty much anticipate when its going to happen, and it doesn't bother me as much anymore. Ive noticed that the most common time period that i can feel the pacemaker is right before bed, or whenever I'm really super relaxed. I'm set at 80 now so anytime my BPM is lower than that,  it kicks in. To kind of explain the feeling, its like your heart stops for a few seconds, then you get an extra strong beat, and it feels as if your heart came out of your chest, flipped over, and popped back in. Kind of odd, but yeah. Another thing, is that my pacemaker has oved a little. It can move as I do, but it doesnt move around my chest. It can wiggle a little to either direction, and now that it has, I am able to sleep on my left side!! Now I know that that doesn't really mean muc normally, but I haven't been able tovlay likenthatbin a long while, so it wonderful to be able to now. I hope everyones Thanksgiving and Christmas went well. I had a great end to the year, spending it out of state with my Grandprents! Though the flu is going around out here, we have all managed not to contract it. I did however get a sore throat, which we believed to be strep, but after a visit to the walk-In clinic, we were corrected. No strep, and I'm already feeling better:D As 2013 begins, I also wanted to let you know that I have began working on my very first novel. By this time next year it will be with the publishing company, on its way to the shelves of your local book store. I hope you've made your new years resolutions as I have... Good luck keeping true to them! Update soon, thanks guys

 Sorry about the typing on that last post... My arm was aching from the IV, and I forgot to spell check it :`/ All is going well.. but I'm still trying to get used to the different settings on my Pacemker... It keeps me up sometimes, but In a week or so, it'll be easier. My little incision is healing right up, and is a little sore, but hasn't bled at all. This procedure was way easier than everyone made it out to be!! Was actually quite simple, so yearly will not be too bad. I caught a cold though, so I was pretty yucky feeling yesterday. Feeling so much better today, though, So maybe it was just a two day cold... HoPeFuLlY :) The Doctor managed to schedule my next cardiac visit on the same day as my Stress Test, so all I get to have is one day in the hospital! YAYAYAY!!! C'mon get Happyyyy!! September 27 is the day. So I just wanted to give you a small update, and I'm goung to try and give them to you weekly, unless something changes. Adios for now!