Jennifer Mathews: There's no place like the zoo for a three-year-old. There's something special about Ian Ehlers that even the animals notice. Ian has overcome odds that many adults never have to face.
Karen Ehlers: Everyday I wake up; I just rejoice because he is such a miracle.
Jennifer Mathews: When Ian was a baby, his mom knew something was wrong. At 11 months old, he could not sit on his own.
Karen Ehlers: Babies rolling over, babies being able to rock and get up on his hands and legs before even starting to crawl. None of that was happening.
Jennifer Mathews: Ian had a cluster of blood vessels in his brain that his first doctor said was inoperable.
Karen Ehlers: It just made me mad. You know when I heard those words. I thought, well, that's not acceptable.
Jennifer Mathews: She didn't give up. Karen found Doctor Kerry Crone who gave her hope and a solution.
Kerry Crone: To help someone that otherwise may not have survived or survived as well is giving another person a chance. I think that's the true reward in medicine and surgery.
Jennifer Mathews: Using high-tech digital imaging, Doctor Crone maps a way to the problem area in Ian's brain. A catheter is put in, and a balloon on the catheter is slowly inflated over seven days.
Kerry Crone: It's establishing a safe passage to a part of the brain that otherwise would not have been possible.
Jennifer Mathews: Doctor Crone was able to then get to and remove the cluster of blood vessels in Ian's brain. One year later Ian is catching up on life; learning how much fun it is to be 3.
Jennifer Mathews: This is Jennifer Mathews reporting.
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