Last May, Howard Staples' heart stopped twice in one day. In June, he had a cardiac pacemaker implanted to start his heart if it stopped again. And next month, 58-year-old Staples will run in the Boston Marathon for the first time.

"It's been a dream my whole life," said Staples, a West Wareham resident. He was a member of track and cross-country teams in high school and college, ran while in the U.S. Air Force, and is now a member of the Gateway Running Club at the Gleason Family YMCA.

"It was kind of a wake-up call," Staples said of the health scare.  But he has had no heart problems since receiving the pacemaker. "[My doctor] said, 'just listen to your body and your body will let you know what to do.'"

The day after he was discharged from the hospital following the surgery, he showed up at a race he was registered to run in. He stood behind the participating runners and walked to the starting line. That was as much as he could do, he said.

Nine days after his surgery, he ran in a five-mile "fun run."  After that race, "I said, you know, I think I can do this. I think I'll be okay," Staples said.

Staples, who works for a group home in Plymouth for deaf and blind young adults, will be running with the Perkins School for the Blind marathon team to raise money for the school. He said he was inspired to run for Perkins because the gentleman he primarily works with at the home receives low-vision assessments and enjoys the digital books he borrows from the school.

Staples was originally placed on the team's waiting list, but he found out just two weeks ago that he would be running when two teammates dropped out of the race. Because of his involvement with the Gateway Running Club, which meets 3-times-a-week and runs 12 to 17 miles each weekend, Staples said he knew he was prepared for the challenge.

"I'm glad I kept training all winter," Staples said, adding that most members of the team have been training together and fundraising since September or October.

Staples has a fundraising goal of $3,250 and had raised $600 as of this printing. To help him raise money for the Perkins School for the Blind, go to http://support.perkins.org/goto/hstaples.