Simon Keith (b. 1965 Lewes, England) is a British soccer player. He is the first athlete to have played professional sports after having undergone a heart transplant.
Video Simon Keith
Early life
Keith moved to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 1967. He went to Mount Douglas Secondary School from 1981-83, where he played on a soccer team with notable teammates Jeff Mallett and John Hughes.
Keith played at the University of Victoria for the Vikings soccer team where in 1984 he was diagnosed with myocarditis, a deterioration of the heart muscle. In 1986, he was the recipient of a heart transplant. The surgery was done in Papworth Hospital outside London by Dr. Mohsin Hakim.
Maps Simon Keith
Sports career
Following recovery from his surgery, Keith moved to Las Vegas in 1987 where he played soccer for the UNLV Rebels with his older brother Adam. Keith was the number one overall pick in the 1989 professional indoor soccer draft. by the Cleveland Crunch of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Keith also played professionally for the Victoria Vistas, the Winnipeg Fury and the Montreal Supra of the Canadian Soccer League.
Keith is now the CEO of the Simon Keith Foundation, founded to increase awareness of organ donorship and educate transplant recipients. Keith is one of the longest-living heart transplant recipients and has lived the majority of his life with his second heart.
References
External links
- Sports Illustrated
- LA Times
- Southern Nevada, (Las Vegas) Sports Hall of Fame
- Las Vegas Sun article
- Las Vegas Sun Article
- Cleveland Crunch (MISL)
- Las Vegas Review Journal
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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