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Heart Attack Fells Top Canadian Marathoner During Race

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Heart Attack Fells Top Canadian Marathoner During Race

Danny Kassap, one of Canadaâ€™s top distance runners, very nearly died last month when he suffered a heart attack while running the Berlin Marathon. Now he urgently needs help to pay for the life-saving medical care that he received while hospitalized in Berlin.

Dannyâ€™s friends with the University of Toronto Track Club have recently established the Danny Kassap Fund (www.dannykassapfund.com), through which sponsors can make secure online donations to this cause. Interested parties can also contribute to the Danny Kassap Fund by visiting any branch of the Royal Bank of Canada and making deposits to account number [Insert Account Number].

A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Danny came to Canada as a teenager in 2001 for the Francophone Games in Ottawa. He made a daring escape from the athletes' village, finding his way to Toronto and seeking refugee status in Canada on the basis of political persecution.

In 2004, Danny won the first marathon he ever ran. For the next several years, he continued to run very fast times on very high mileage, while also working full-time and obtaining his high school equivalency.

After numerous legal setbacks, Danny finally became a landed immigrant in April of this year, and a Canadian citizen in August. In April, he traveled to England to run the London Marathon, one of the worldâ€™s most prestigious and competitive road races. He finished 15th, just three places behind reigning Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini.

In September, Danny traveled to Berlin to run his first marathon as a Canadian citizen. For the first several kilometers, he appeared poised to have another outstanding race. However, near the 5 km mark, disaster struck when Danny suddenly collapsed. Danny received between 15-19 shocks from a defibrillator, and the paramedics worked on him for 45 minutes before his condition stabilized. He was placed in a medically-induced coma for several days, and remained in a Berlin hospital for over two weeks before he was able to return home to Toronto.

The doctors determined that Danny suffered a â€œventricular fibrillationâ€ (an uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle) brought on by myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart), which in turn was caused by a cold virus. Danny will not be able to run for at least the next three months, but doctors are cautiously optimistic that he will make a full recovery.

Danny received outstanding medical care while in Berlin, but it has left him with a crippling debt. Even with OHIP covering a portion of Dannyâ€™s medical bills, he still owes $18,000 to the hospital which cared for him, and which discharged him on the undertaking that the amount owing will be paid in a timely manner.

Danny has been unable to contact his family since coming to Canada, and even if he could, they would be unable to provide him with any financial assistance. Danny presently works full-time as an assistant manager at the Running Room. Eighteen thousand dollars is far more than Danny can afford to pay back quickly, and therefore he urgently needs help from his fellow Canadians through contributions to the Danny Kassap Fund.

Dannyâ€™s coach with the University of Toronto Track Club, Ross Ristuccia, on establishing the Danny Kassap Fund:

â€œDanny is an extremely hard worker, and he has never been on social assistance. He has contributed a great deal to the community since arriving in Canada in 2001, and we hope that his fellow Canadians will display their generosity by contributing to the Danny Kassap Fund.â€

Danny on becoming a Canadian citizen this past August:

â€œMy dream is to represent Canada at the Olympics in the marathon. The reason I went to Berlin was to qualify for next yearâ€™s World Championships. I am very proud to be a Canadian citizen.â€

For more information about the Danny Kassap Fund, please e-mail dannykassapfund@gmail.com, or phone University of Toronto Track Club coach Ross Ristuccia, at 416-699-4237.

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