Imagine a child afraid to run and play - afraid to do things every boy and girl should do. Blaine Gorham lived with that fear every day.
Born with an irregular heart beat, Blaine struggled through the first years of his life.
"He wouldn't run, wouldn't play. He was a nervous wreck," says his mother, Jodie Gorham.
But thanks to new technology, available at University of Iowa Children's Hospital, Blaine would have that chance to run and play, without worrying about his heart.
Using a minimally invasive procedure called cryoablation, heart specialists with University of Iowa Children's Hospital now had a safe and effective way to correct Blaine's irregular heart beat.
"If you can imagine a car at a racetrack, that's what this abnormal heart rhythm is like. The goal is to try to disrupt that racetrack. So what we do is create a road block in the heart - along this abnormal course," says Ian Law, M.D., UI pediatric cardiologist.
Cryoablation uses extremely cold temperatures to destroy the tissue causing the abnormal heart rate.
Today, Blaine's heart works just fine - and he isn't afraid to play anymore.
"He runs. He plays. People at school just can't believe it. He's just wonderful," says his mother.
"Blaine had a spectacular result. He's a wonderful boy. These are the type of cases that make it all worthwhile," says Law.
Blaine will be featured in the upcoming Children's Miracle Network celebration broadcast, which will air June 5 and 6 on the following Mediacom cable outlets throughout Iowa.
- Atlantic - Channel 22
- Cedar Falls/Waterloo - Channel 14
- Cedar Rapids - Channel 10
- Des Moines - Channel 22
- Dubuque - Channel 18
- Emmitsburg - Channel 18
- Fairfield/Ottumwa - Channel 15
- Iowa City - Channel 68
- Mason City - Channel 5 (and Channel 14 in selected neighboring communities)
- Quad Cities - Channel 19
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