Personal Narrative: Journey Of The Mended Heart

The loss of my younger brother changed my life in ways that I couldn't have imagined at the time of his death, but I was bombarded with so many emotions and undertakings that deeply impaired my thought process.

Reaching across the center console of my car, I imagined the commute that I had into school. My 1992 Jeep Cherokee courageously braved the snowstorm of the year, with only one functional windshield wiper and a forlorn four wheel drive system. As I turned onto the Merritt Parkway, a Honda Civic swerved past me and proceeded to weave in and out of the afternoon traffic. Fast-forward sixty seconds and that Honda was now engulfed by the powder white trees which bound the highway. Instinctively, I pulled up behind the crash site, dialing 911 as I ran over to the mangled wreck. I peered into the car, my pupils the size of marbles, and the driver seemed uninjured; regardless, I proceeded to reassure the driver that Emergency Medical Technician’s/Paramedic’s

I feel a sense of calmness wash over me. My thoughts are peaceful and positive. I am confident and capable. I sleep a deep, healing sleep. I wake in the morning refreshed and renewed.

This summer I attended the Metro Detroit Heart Walk benefitting the American Heart Association. It’s a walk or run race that started at Ford Field and span five kilometers throughout the streets of downtown Detroit preceded by a short informative event. I'd been asked to compete by my godmother Sandy, who works for a Henry Ford hospital, one of the event sponsors. I decided the run the race, even though I’m probably the least athletic person in the world. I wanted to challenge myself and make Sandy happy.

Mercy Medical Center is where it all started. On August 4th, 2004, 6:47 p.m. I was born. My name all started as a simple idea 4 years before I was even born. It originated from an American singer-songwriter Shannon Hoon, the lead vocalist of Blind Melon. Eventually, Shannon had a daughter, and named her Nico Blue. My mom liked the name and decided she would name her first child that. Though my first name isn’t actually Nico, it’s Nicolynn. She added her middle name to the first half, leaving me with no middle name.

Why? Well, I personally have a heart condition. I was born with left Valve Stenosis witch means my heart has to work harder to pump blood though the valve and my body can suffer with less oxogen. With having this condition I do have chest pains, more then anyone has. The wild part is I can not take birth control because there is a lot of effects within the heart. I’ve had an inhaler many times to help with my breathing and multiple open heart surgeries. With my condition there are many things in this world I am not able to do, such as I have to be a certain weight. As for me I can’t weaigh over 120 pounds, I can’t go on roller costers, I can’t have too much salt, and I’m very limited on working out and I can’t skip meals and being stress is not great for my heart.

The family was in such a state of shock they hadn’t even heard their “options.” I explained everything to them on a more personal level and just sat with them for a moment trying to help them process the information. They were very appreciative that I had taken the time to do so. This experience alone made me realize I wanted to do primary care. Making relationships with my patients and building trust through holistic quality care is extremely important to me.

The surgery I had was a pretty major surgery some could say, four though six hours and it's compared as open heart surgery. It wasn't the surgical pain though that caused me to stay there longer then i was supposed to no, it was some kind of nerve pain that even the doctors and nurses had know idea what to do. My case was so uncommon they sent me into ICU after fives days of being in pain two hours three times a day. Not knowing what to do the nurses would just shoot me up with a bunch of drugs just to calm down the pain and all I could do was watch as this was all happening while gasping for air.

During the third season of When Calls the Heart, I became the unofficial interviewer of the Hope Valley Kids, probably because I interviewed so many of them. And Jaiven Natt was definitely in that group. With his return to the series this year, we have continued to see his skill and character expand and deepen, so I recently had the supreme opportunity of chatting with him yet again, and this time, we had a decidedly different, but engaging interview covering a wide variety of topics.

This season on “When Calls the Heart” has been a fantastic time of growth in the community, and many of the featured new faces have been the children of Hope Valley. Yet again, Hearties were introduced to a character named Robert who didn’t get along with Cody in the beginning, but Miss Thatcher never gave up on him. With his signature curly hair and spot on facial expressions, we have not been able to overlook this character nor the boy who has infused him with life, Jaiven Natt. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with this 11-year-old who has become a delightful part of this weekly Hallmark escape.

November 25, 2000; my night of bartending had come to an end. At 25-years-old, things were looking great for me. I was young, healthy, extremely good looking… or hot I you will, like gorgeous. Did I mention young? Anyway, things were looking great. I also had met the love of my life and we had been discussing the possibility of marriage. As I finished counting my drawer, the left side of my body went numb. My corner of my face drooped as the world began to spin and echo. An ambulance was called and I was rushed to the hospital. I had a stroke.

I was born on September 20th, 1997 on the coast of Virginia Beach. Now living in South Carolina I am 19 years old and living a very healthy and eloquent lifestyle. As I filled out the Real Age questionnaire I encountered many questions that made me think if my diet and health were flawed, while other times it seemed as if I was the pinnacle of health. I found at the end it had me down as a 16-year-old teenager. This three-year difference in what my age and what Real Age had put me down for really opens my eyes about how well of a healthy lifestyle I am living, and motivates me to continue living it to the best of my ability.

Katlynn was out of the hospital after about a week and a half. All of us girls cleaned the house spotless upon her arrival. That may not sound like much, but we were young girls that lived on a farm, so being messy was pretty much our thing. Katlynn came home and we all showered her with hugs. The first week she was home we watched her like a hawk, trying not to make it noticeable. Since Kate got out of the hospital she has to take pills every morning and night, and she had to make a trip to Mason city twice a year. Today she only goes once a year because she hasn’t suffered a seizure since. There have been a few scares here and there, though. It’s been seven and a half years since that terrible day, and Kate’s doing great. She is at the age

I am interested in coming to Camp Cardiac because I will be a cardiac surgeon one day. My dream has always been to become some type of surgeon. I have fallen in love with the heart. I believe Camp Cardiac would be a great experience for me to learn more in depth of the heart and medicine. Studying about the heart excites me. The heart is a beautiful muscular organ. It pumps blood throughout the whole body. It is the center of the circulatory system. The heart is most important to the body. That's why I love it. Camp Cardiac would allow me to have the chance to study what I am passionate about learning about. I expect to learn in great detail about the heart and how to take care of it. I expect to learn about the anatomy and physiology of the

My heart raced, I started to hyperventilate as I eagerly inched closer and closer to the front of the line. I was minutes away from meeting the most amazing person that I’ve idolized for years, Gabbie Hanna (also known as The Gabbie Show). I was frequently stressed and had hard times when I was younger and I 've always went to Youtube to help me laugh. One day I was on Youtube and saw one of Gabbie’s videos and clicked on it. I laughed so hard when watching it and looked into her youtube channel more. After that I just kept watching and became a fan of hers. My mom, my friend, and I have been waiting for what could’ve been forty minutes, an hour, or even two hours. No matter how long we waited, to me, it felt like an eternity.