BARTLETT, Tenn. — A cross country runner from Bartlett High School suffered a heart attack during a race in Florida this weekend, according to Bartlett City Schools.
On Sept. 10, during a race in Pensacola, Fla., Gabe Higginbottom, 17, a junior at BHS, was sent to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital at the advice of the on-staff medical team.
A CAT scan revealed further action needed to be taken, and Higginbottom was flown by helicopter to the UF Shands Heart and Vascular Hospital in Gainesville that night, school officials said.
Medical staff found the teen’s right artery completely blocked.
Doctors performed an angioplasty to insert a balloon to open the artery, and later performed a 3-hour surgery.
They inserted two stents and found two blood clots, officials said.
Cross Country coach, Kris Harman, and Gabe’s mother, Edrika, remain by Gabe’s side, as he is currently recovering at the hospital, officials said.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up by the Cross Country Booster Club to offset any medical bills.
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