After spending part of her holidays at the Blair E. Batson Hospital, Taylor Coffee is now set to ring in the New Year as a healthy active pre-teen.

Born with Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a congenital heart defect, the 12-year-old, who has already undergone two open-heart surgeries to correct the anatomical abnormalities of her heart, received a pacemaker on Nov. 30, said her mother Mary Coffee. Taylor’s first open heart surgery was performed when she was just a year old, and the second when she was seven.

Taylor had begun experiencing shortness of breath earlier this year, her mother said, and after the doctor had her wear a Holter monitor, which is a continuous tape recording of a patient’s EKG, the results showed Taylor needed a pacemaker.

“On the monitor, the doctor saw that she had an extra heart beat, and so they did a heart cath (catherization) to see what the extra heart beat was coming from and that is when they said a pacemaker was needed. Blood does not flow to the bottom chamber of Taylor’s heart the way it should,” Mary said, adding that this could cause her daughter’s heart rate to bottom out.

The procedure to insert the pacemaker was successful, Mary said, but following the surgery, the incision came open requiring Taylor to return to the hospital to repair the incision and make sure there was no infection.

Taylor, who is an outgoing youth and never meets a stranger, has always been a trooper when having to undergo treatments for her heart disorder, but this time her mother said because of the holidays, it was a bit harder.

“She just started crying, and she had what I have been telling everybody was a meltdown. She just cried and said she was tired of being cut on,” Mary said, adding, “she wanted to go home is what it was.”

When asked about her heart defect, the surgeries, the hospital stays and the recoveries that she has had to endure, Taylor speaks with the faith of someone older and wise.

“To be honest, I really feel good about it because I believed in God that I could feel good, and I wasn’t scared of anything, and I am glad I am here,” Taylor said.

As for other young people who may have to go through tough times, Taylor said her advice to them would be to believe.

“I would tell them not to be scared and believe in God because he is right there by your side, and there is nothing to worry about because the doctor is going to take good care of you.”