INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Cynthia Cathey has been on an unimaginable journey ever since her newborn son was diagnosed with a rare condition called short bowel syndrome. It affects only 46 out of every 100,000 infants. While many adults and children can recover without a transplant, her son didn’t. This led him to undergo a life-saving medical breakthrough procedure.

Ten-year-old Jah’ Seki knows it’s never too soon to get ready for his big league dreams of playing both football and baseball.

While pro football and baseball may be a long way off, Jah’ Seki has already been on a long journey just to get where he is currently.

“Jah’ Seki was born with mal-rotation of the mid vulbulous gut. His small intestines died. He was going to have a very rough life,” Cynthia said.

Less than 1% of infants are born with short bowel syndrome, which happens when either the large or small intestine doesn’t work. The condition can be fatal. That’s why Jah’ Seki’s family was referred to Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Intestinal Rehabilitation program — one of just a handful in the country.

“The hope of every doctor like me that we can help them using medications and using sort of other strategies, to try to rehabilitate their intestines,” said Dr. Ke-You (Yo Yo) Zhang, MD, medical director of Pediatric Intestinal Transplant at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.

When Jah’ Seki was eight, that’s when an intestinal transplant was first considered. It meant removing what was left of his gut and replacing it with a new organ. While it was his best shot, it was a massive surgery. The first attempt was unsuccessful due to clotting. However, two weeks later, he got the miracle he was hoping for.

“By the time he left the hospital, he was off IV nutrition, he was eating and he just is voracious now,” Zhang said.

“My favorite food is spaghetti,” Jah’ Seki said.

“Our life has definitely changed. And I am so grateful and so thankful,” Cynthia said.

While an intestinal transplant is a massive and complex surgery — Jah’ Seki’s doctor said he surpassed the hospital’s hopes. Now, Jah’ Seki is getting ready to try out for the soccer team. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health has performed over 50 intestinal transplants in the last 10 years with a near perfect success rate.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.