GoKawiilJenny Simpson has spent the past two months recovering from a medical emergency that nearly took her life. Now, she says she finally feels ready to explain what happened and what comes next.
The three-time U.S. Olympian shared an extensive update on Instagram , revealing that she was diagnosed with a rare inherited heart condition after going into sudden cardiac arrest following a track event in June.
“It took me time to find the words and be ready to share this update,” Simpson wrote. “Thank you for your continued love, patience, prayers, and concern as I recover and return to work and public life.”
At just 39, Simpson collapsed after pacing runners at the Sir Walter Running Pop-Up Mile in Raleigh, North Carolina. CPR was performed immediately, with an AED used until emergency medical personnel showed up.
Her condition worsened after she reached the hospital. Simpson said she suffered another cardiac arrest and was eventually placed on life support before being transferred to Duke Hospital for more advanced treatment.
“My heart was severely injured and stunned. My lungs struggled too,” she wrote.
Her condition began improving over the following days, eventually allowing her to come off the intensive support she had needed.
“Miraculously, my heart woke back up,” she wrote. “My whole body proved remarkably resilient. Within days my heart and lungs were strong enough to work on their own.”
She was later diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy ( ARVC ), a rare inherited condition. “Scar tissue within my heart disrupted its electrical system, triggering dangerous heart rhythms that ultimately caused my heart to stop,” Simpson wrote.
Simpson is now back home in Colorado and called her current situation the “best-case scenario.” She said she’ll continue working with her Duke medical team as she learns what living with ARVC will mean for her recovery going forward.
... continue reading