Trinity, NC (WFMY) - A 5-year-old boy and Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White have something in common. They were both born with the same heart defect.
It's treatable, usually through surgery, and those who have it normally go on to live a healthy life. But with any type of heart disease, there are risks and concerns.
Collin Metters and Shaun White are complete strangers, but they have several similarities. They're competitive, and play to win. Then, they celebrate those big wins. This week, Collin & his family learned the two have the same congenital heart disease called Tetralogy of Fallot, but that is in no way holding them back.
“I said oh my gosh, he has the same heart defect as Collin,” said Carla Metters, his mother, “Look what Collin can do.”
Five year old Collin and his twin, Jonas, came into the world 6 weeks early. A nurse noticed Collin had a heart murmur, not long after he was born. Doctors at Brenner Children's Hospital later diagnosed it as Tetralogy of Fallot.
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“Tetralogy of Fallot is named that way because there are basically four things that go wrong in the formation of the heart,” said Collin’s doctor, and Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at Brenner Children’s Hospital, Dr. Derek Williams, “There’s a hole between the two lower chambers, and there's obstruction. It gives the heart trouble getting blood to the lungs.”
Dr. Williams says when an infant is old enough, surgeons go in and remove those obstructions, and patch up the hole. Collin had the heart surgery when he was 5 and a half months old.
A few years and more procedures later, his doctor and his family say things are going great.
“He’s different. But he kind of really embraces that,” said Jason Metters, Collin’s dad.
This week, they sat down and watched Shaun White take to the halfpipe and win the gold. Jason says all that determination, and all that heart, gives them hope for their son.
“He's got a fighting spirit. If you didn't have the fighting spirit, after his heart repair, he probably wouldn't still be here,” he said.
Collin’s a twin, but every year they celebrate his "heart" birthday, the anniversary of that open heart surgery.
