Pacemaker Kemoy Campbell to receive heart pacemaker

In a twist that seems like the running gods having a laugh at his expense, Kemoy Campbell, the pacer whose heart stopped halfway through the 3,000m at the Millrose Games two weeks ago, will have surgery to instal an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD–the scientific term for a pacemaker) in case it happens again.

RELATED: Pacer collapses during 3,000m at Millrose Games

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The meet was briefly halted as Campbell, who is 28, was attended to by medical personnel track-side and then transported to New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. Campbell is a five-time Jamaican national champion who competed for the University of Arkansas and holds multiple Jamaican records on the track. He also represented Jamaica at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. 

Campbell has been told he will have to take some time off running while he recovers, though he hopes to return to the track in a few months. He has no memory of collapsing.

Campbell’s Instagram posts tell the story of what he has been through over the last couple of weeks. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $58,000 for his medical expenses, which could end up as high as $200,000. 

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