A Hearty Life

Mountain Climber Kelly Perkins Has Heart

by Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD on March 5th, 2007

In December last year, Dale Shippam attempted to summit Mount Vinson Massif in Antarctica. What made his journey even more incredible was that he’d received a heart transplant eight years ago and was climbing with his cardiologist, Dr. Heather Ross.

While you might think mountain climbing would be off limits to most people with heart disease, Kelly Perkins is another heart tranplant recipient who has scaled a number mountains including the Matterhorn, Mount Fuji, and Mount Kilimajaro. Kelly developed cardiomyopathy in 1992 which was apparently due to a viral infection. After 3 and a half years of steady decline, she received a heart transplant in 1995. Within a year, Kelly resumed climbing together with her husband Craig Perkins. They recently climbed the Cajon de Arenales peaks in Argentina.

Kelly said,

Needless to say, for me, going from needing to be carried up the stairs in our home at night to climbing and exploring new mountains is unimaginable. This we owe to donors, doctors, drugs and new technologies, and I am thankful to benefit from all the medical milestones that have made this all possible.

Her husband, Craig Perkins:

Kelly had a heart transplant on Nov. 20, 1995. A little over a decade later and she’s opening new routes and doing some amazing things you’d never expect,” he said. “Even after a transplant you can be a very, very strong person, and Kelly is a prime example of that.

What a team! You can learn more about Craig and Kelly at their beautiful website.

Like this post? Why not read another? Every page you read at A Hearty Life is helping to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Casper Star Tribune, March 5, 2007

Tags: mountain climbing, kelly perkins, craig perkins, heart transplant, heart, heart disease, cardiomyopathy, diseases, illness, health

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POSTED IN: Heart Transplants, People With Heart Disease