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You Can Have Everest
13:31 p.m. EDT Aug 29, 2003
The Matterhorn is a demanding challenge for most any climber, and even more so for a small woman with a transplanted heart. At one point on the climb, while scaling a steep, technical rock wall, Kelly Perkins looked into the camera and stated, “You can have Everest, Gary. This is enough for me.” It was a personal message to expedition photographer Michael Brown's cousin, Gary Swain, who is holding onto his dream of climbing Everest one day, even as he awaits a heart transplant. Kelly’s own climb to the Matterhorn was in part to raise awareness about the gift of organ donation. A priceless gift that saved her life.
Now that Kelly and her husband Craig have safely returned from their summit of the Matterhorn, Michael has updated the site with more pictures and details from their climb.
Click below for the video clip of a jubilant Kelly on her return from the summit. Also be sure to check out the Serac Films Web site link for an amazing string of pictures from the climb!
Video of Kelly and Craig after summit.
Several years ago, a rare virus left Kelly dying with congestive heart failure. She received a life-saving transplant in 1995 and, just 10 months after her surgery, began her post-transplant climbs. Since 1996, she has climbed 8,842-foot Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt Fuji where, as a tribute, Craig brought the ashes of Kelly's heart donor.
Because her nerves were severed in the transplant procedure, Kelly's heart is not capable of communicating with the brain in the same way as her original heart. It is unable signal her heart to beat faster and take in the appropriate level oxygenated blood when exercising. Eventually, adrenaline kicks in to compensate, however, the delay makes climbing a more difficult challenge.
Image of Kelly Perkins on Matterhorn climbing steep rock wall before sunrise courtesy of Michael Brown, Serac Films.
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