Kassap survives heart scare, now faces medical bill

A spectator jumped over to help Kassap and less than a minute later, race paramedics were able to stabilize his heart using defibrillator paddles. 

The 29-year-old Toronto runner, who fled from war-torn Congo in 2001, was running his first race as a Canadian citizen after an eight-year battle with immigration officials, and was hoping to run under 2:14 to qualify for the 2009 World Marathon Championships. But the race for a PB was replaced with a bid to stay alive, as Kassap was rushed to  a Berlin hospital, where he was put into an induced coma to help with his recovery. His wife Diane Tichborne flew to Germany, as worried runners across Canada sent well wishes to Kassap on message boards and blogs. Doctors determined that the underlying cause of the heart problem was myocarditis, caused by a virus, and told Kassap’s coach Ross Ristuccia that he was expected to make a full recovery, though Kassap is still undergoing tests in Toronto. 

When he emerged from the coma, doctors were shocked how quickly Kassap rebounded. Four days after the coma, Ristuccia says Kassap was walking around Berlin. 

“I keep wondering what might have happened if this situation had occurred on a morning run in Toronto,” says Ristuccia. 

Kassap was lucky to get quick medical attention, but the bad news is that he ended up with an $18,000 medical bill. Clubmates at the University of Toronto Track Club set up a website to collect donations for Kassap at http://www.dannykassapfund.com

-MK