WATCH: Man running the NYC marathon with doctor who saved his life
Three years ago, Verissimo Costa collapsed and died while running. Today, he's running the New York City Marathon
In 2018, New Yorker Verissimo Costa collapsed from a heart attack while out for a run along the Hudson river, and was clinically dead for five minutes. Today, he’s running the New York City Marathon with his training partner — the doctor who saved his life. Watch the video below for the inspiring story.
This will be Costa’s first marathon, and it was his doctor, Dr. John Puskas, an avid runner, who began running with him as he got stronger after his surgery. “I don’t think I was even thinking about that, how my life was going to be after the surgery,” Costa said in an interview with the New York Daily News. “Here I am, and I’m running the marathon. I’m very excited, half-terrified. It’s my first time.”
Although he is a healthy, active man, Costa had advanced coronary artery disease, a problem that unfortunately runs in his family. He recovered quickly from bypass surgery after he collapsed, much to the satisfaction of his doctors. “We saw him a few times early after surgery,” said Puskas. “About a year later he was already back to running, and we went for a run together down the West Side Highway where he’d had his cardiac arrest, and he kind of got over that psychologically.”
Costa says he’s never been a competitive person and considers himself a “jogger,” but he’s excited to cross the finish line today in New York.
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