Its Elise Jones

19/03/2026

Are you alive…or Living?
One of many blessings of heart failure/chronic illness is knowing -and choosing- the difference.

I read a study from Harvard that felt very validating;

That quality of life and health are highly dependent on the quality of relationships and hobbies that make you feel happy.

-Not quantity, Quality.

So I wonder…
Are you doing things that make you truly happy,
or constantly thinking, “I’ve always wanted to do that?”

Are you spending your time with people that love you back, or holding onto relationships that feel heavy?

It’s not just psychological, it’s physical.

Your body, your nervous system…they feel the difference.

Stop waiting, and start doing.
Go do the things you’ve always wanted to do.
Call the people & tell them you love them.

Today matters. Choose wisely.

Less waiting. More Living.
More connection. More honesty.

Increase your quality of life by doing more of what actually feels good within it.

If someone came to mind while reading this… that’s probably your answer.
Share this to thank them. 💌

Share Your Heart
❤️🤟🏼, Elise

18/03/2026

High expectations can kill the joy. (Proof in previous post)

Have you ever felt like you’ve done everything right, only to be disappointed with the outcome?
(Health, work, relationships…)

It’s important to have goals and expectations, but raising the bar too high on something outside of our control can lead to disappointment, which is different from having a positive mindset.

People can disappoint you.
Results can disappoint you.

No matter how much we do to ensure a positive outcome, there are things outside of our control that are going to happen anyway.
What we CAN control is how we react when our expectations are not met.
-also keeping our nervous system in check.

After working so hard to try and raise my heart function (in chronic heart failure) with no improvement, it felt like a blow. Not because it’s a ‘bad’ number, but because I had high expectations on something not always in my control.

Rather than being disappointed that my heart function is still ‘rounded up’ to 50% after 2.5 years, I can be grateful to have been stable for 2.5 years!

My advice?
Set your expectations low, and you’ll never be disappointed. Tiny Joys! 😉🤣

Drop a “🙌” & share this if you relate.

Share Your Heart
❤️🤟🏼, Elise

17/03/2026

My regular heart failure check-up (Echo, EKG, bloodwork, etc) showed no signs of improvement today. In fact, they ‘rounded up’ my EF/heart function to 50%, where I’ve been hovering for 2 years now. I’m tired.

I went in with such high expectations of higher numbers, being so diligent in my daily regimen, even adding stem cell therapy that is ‘proven to help.’ It’s frustrating when you do all the right things and life still pulls the rug out from under you.

So life doesn’t turn out the way you want; how do you deal with that?

I give myself a regular “Dark Day,” permission to be sad, angry, irrational, so it can pass & my emotions don’t take root, turning into something bigger.

I let myself be sad, I just don’t let myself stay there. CHF is a permanent condition, so if I can’t change it, I can find joy within it. In spite of it.

It’s OK to not be OK.
It’s important to allow yourself to be sad.

After sharing in my stories regularly, I felt this belonged here, since this might resonate with you or someone you know.
Save or share this with someone who may need it.

I’m so grateful you are here so we can learn and grow through the hard, together.

Share Your Heart,
❤️🤟🏼,
Elise

12/03/2026

The original short doc of the first part of my heart story (pre lung resection & other complications)
by & , before being re-edited/re-named & awarded at Zions Film Fest.

“Six months after reconstructive heart surgery, Elise Jones fulfilled a lifelong dream of hiking Mt Everest.
Following her heroic climb, an emergency lifeflight brought unexpected health news. She now woke up every day with two choices, to be mad or to rollerskate. Embraced by the love of a community and Minky she discovered that she didn’t need to climb a mountain to prove she is strong.
Elise, we are inspired by your determination to make joy a choice everyday and roll through life with a smile!”

Thank you for seeing my story as something to be shared to help others in their struggle. We all have mountains to climb & are here to support each other through it.

Joy a choice.

Share Your Heart
❤️🤟🏼, Elise

11/03/2026

Happy/Sad. You can be both at the same time.
Have you felt this way?

Tiny Joys of self care can help your nervous system regulate through it:

• Touch/hold something soft
• Drink something warm (sit & enjoy it)
• Sit in the dark - relax your eyes & brain
• Listen to soothing music
• Put a gentle smile on your face for 1 min.
• Deep Breathing (have you heard this before?)

Life is Brutiful.
I’m here to help you through it, together.

Share Your Heart
❤️🤟🏼, Elise

07/03/2026

We’re often told to “stay positive.”
But heart health - and real life - isn’t that simple.

I’m not the friend that will tell you “it’s OK.”
Because it’s not “OK.”
What you’re going through can be hard, it’s real.
But not staying there, finding joy within the heart is what we do here, together…

Some days are brutal:
Diagnosis. Fatigue. Fear. Uncertainty.

Some days are beautiful:
Connection. Breath. Tiny joy. Resilience.

And most days? They’re both.

Your heart doesn’t just respond to medication.
It responds to stress, safety, grief, and hope.
All the things.

You can be down during something positive.
You can be joyful during something hard.

Your nervous system responds to both, as it’s regulating. It’s OK to not feel happy all the time. The goal is to not stay down.

If you ever feel pulled apart, congratulations on being normal! You’re seen & understood here as we practice tiny joys for calming your heart.

•Drop a ❤️ if you feel this.
•Save this for the brutal days.
•Share it on the beautiful ones.

Life is Brutiful!

“Share Your Heart”
❤️🤟🏼, Elise

04/03/2026

6 months post open heart surgery, I was able to climb another mountain. Although permanent chronic heart failure & partial lung removal came after that, it didn’t break me.

(Swipe through - the actual short video is pinned at the top of my Instagram profile as “Heart of Minky”; modified for the festival.)

Stiry thought it was a story worth sharing so they created the short documentary, later being accepted into the Zions Indie Film Fest winning 3rd place, where they won 2 awards out of hundreds of films.

Dan is a brother to me (as we understand & support each others lives in chronic illness)
& Briana now a dear friend, who create ‘stories that stir’ and offered a supportive environment for ‘sharing my heart.’ The Film Fest was a fun weekend to celebrate collectively, and hold their award. 🤣

I’m grateful to still be actively doing my thing, even when it looks a little different.
No longer able or wanting to push the hustle.
It’s refreshing to swallow pride, realizing my weakness has become my greatest strength,
and I don’t have to climb a mountain be strong.

-and life is more fun on wheels; you can’t possibly be sad on rollerskates.

I’m grateful to share with all of you here, finding joy within the hard, together. You’re not alone.
Everyone has a mountain to climb, and getting it to the top doesn’t mean the struggle is over; but staying down, sitting in a chair is harder.
Here’s to creating joy within the hard, together.

“Share Your Heart”
❤️🤟🏼, Elise

Directors:
Producer:
Photography:
Collab/Sponsor of original short:

21/02/2026

21/02/2026

16/02/2026

“I used to hate my scar & pectoral deformities…”

- I posted this the day before being life flighted with stage D heart failure. At the time, I thought I had already survived the hardest part.
May, 2021:
___

…Not for how it looked (I don’t care) but for the constant reminder of the years of pain & trauma associated with my heart complications, surgeries, and used to wear high neck swimsuits to cover it.

I’ve said this before & I’ll say it again; perhaps my heart needed to be opened in order to share it...

I’ve been in CA the last few days w/ my daughter & friend for her graduation, skating the boardwalk with her, dealing with severely swollen legs, usually associated with my heart, but pain is in my right side, now creeping up my body & into my face…I don’t know what’s happening!

But rather than being worried or frustrated, I’m trying to be grateful for my body that tells me what’s going on, when I need to pay attention, and what I should or shouldn’t be doing. (Or eating😉)

My heart has worked hard. Some scars can’t be seen, as emotional heartbreak is much harder to heal than physical. It’s been broken and keeps beating.
I love my heart and the strength it’s given me to keep standing, to keep going, to keep living. It beats to its own drum and I love that.

I’m now proud of my scar & it’s associated pectoral muscle deformities. It’s no longer a reminder of physical trauma, but of new growth & overcoming it.

Open & share your heart.
Keep standing. Keep going. Keep LIVING.
___

I’m resharing this for Heart Month.
If you’re learning to love a scar - visible or invisible - you’re not alone.

Save this for the days you forget how strong you are. ❤️💔🙏🏻

Share Your Heart
❤️🤟🏼, Elise