ROCHESTER, Minn. — A 6-year-old boy who has spent the last six months in intensive care has undergone heart transplant surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Cameron Ulrich was born with a rare heart defect and has survived in recent months hooked to a machine that functioned as his heart and lungs. The Oak Park Heights boy has been waiting for a heart since mid-October. That finally happened on Wednesday.

The Star Tribune says doctors at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis implanted a pacemaker when Cameron was just 12 days old. His family says his heart worked fairly well until last year when an echocardiogram revealed the organ was failing.

Cameron is expected to spend another three months at Mayo recovering.